The End is Nigh
by Raphael Comet
Summary: A non-canon story involving my characters from my first major fiction project. This story revolves around Raphael and the other Prodigies from Centre Ridge Academy as they try and survive a zombie outbreak. Main characters are OCs from my Simpler Times project.
1. Chapter 1 - Zero Hour

"Wake up, Raph. You're dosing off," said Amy, nudging him awake.

"Huh, wha?" He raised his head from his desk and looked around.

"C'mon. We gotta finish this before the end of class," she said. Raphael shook off his drowsiness and directed his attention back to his pad on his desk.

As he began working again, Susan came over to them and sat down. "Hey, did you hear?"

"What? The accident at the R&D building? I know about it," said Amy.

"Yeah, but did you hear that they're sending a special unit to investigate it? I was coming back from the bathroom when I heard a couple instructors talking about it."

"What kind of _special unit_?"

"I don't know. They didn't say."

"What do they need a special unit for, anyway? It was just a gas leak, wasn't it?" asked Raphael.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps roaring down the hallway as a student sprinted past their room, shouting indiscriminately.

Instructor Richards got up from his desk and went to see what was going on. "Stay seated and continue your work."

As he left the classroom, they continued their conversation. "Do you think the explosion caused any serious damage?" asked Susan.

"Who knows. They didn't say much on the news," said Amy.

"Do you think it has something to do with all the sick prodigies? I mean, it's not even flu season and a large number of us have been laid up in the infirmary since the accident," said Susan.

"What's with all the questions? I have no idea, Susan. I think you've been watching too many movies."

As they were talking, the PA system came on. "Prodigy Noland, please report to the front office. Your father is here to pick you up."

"Dang, that's the fifth time today. Where are all these guys going, anyway? Vacation?" said Trey, one of the students in their work group.

"Pssh…who cares?" said Amy, growing more irritated that her group was deviating from their work.

Susan stopped and thought for a moment, staring down at her desk. _'Wait…could it be?'_

Raphael looked over at her, concerned by her troubled look. "What's the matter, Susan?"

She broke off from her daze and turned to him and Amy. "Guys, I think I've come on to something. You know all the prodigies that left earlier today?"

Amy sighed, putting down her pen. "Yeah. And?"

"Well, at least one of their parents is a very high-ranking officer, a colonel or general."

"So?"

"So what is really intriguing is that the high-ranking parent also happens to be part of the Research and Development department."

"Okay…so where are you going with this?"

"Don't you see? Those high-ranking parents of theirs probably know something about the '_accident_' that those of us outside the R&D aren't aware of…yet, anyway. It must be serious if they're pulling their kids out from school like that."

All of a sudden, a warning siren was heard from Huntington Air Force Base followed by a general announcement. "Emergency. All personnel, report to your stations. I repeat. Emergency. All personnel…report to your stations. Code Black. Combat personnel, standby for deployment orders."

Once the message repeated, Susan turned to Amy with a smug look. "Now do you believe me?"

As the base-wide announcement was blaring, one of the principals got on the campus-wide PA system to address the prodigies. "Attention, Centre Ridge Academy. Do not panic. I repeat. Remain calm. Instructors, immediately shut your classroom doors and keep your prodigies inside while we initiate lockdown. Once the doors close, the locks will activate, leaving you safe inside until we find out what the situation is. Await further instructions once the rooms are secured. Security, wait for- Hey, they're breaking through! Captain, secure that door! What are you waiting for-" The line went dead with a screech as the principal knocked over the microphone.

Everyone in Raphael's classroom looked at each other with confused looks. Once they heard gunfire in the distance, they all scrambled out of their seats and headed over to the window, raising the blinds. They all gasped as they saw explosions and large fires from the adjacent air force base. From their floor, they couldn't see much, just over the campus perimeter wall.

"What do we do!?" asked one of the prodigies in their class.

"Are we under attack!?" asked another prodigy.

"Now everyone stay calm," said the highest-ranking prodigy in the room. The other prodigies looked away from the window and directed their attention to him. "We need to stay calm and focus. We're prodigies of the Cornerian military, are we not?" His classmates nodded and regained their bearing, listening intently to what he had to say. "Our first order of business is to close the door. Then we'll find out what's happening on the outside. Does anyone have their pad handy?"

"But Instructor Richards isn't back yet. Shouldn't we wait for him to return?" asked Raphael.

"Fine. Comet, you take a team and find Instructor Richards. Report back in five. If you're not back by then, seek shelter elsewhere because we're closing the door whether you're back or not."

Raphael nodded and took Amy, Susan, and Trey with him to find their instructor. He peeked out of the classroom and looked back and forth to see if anyone else was around. The hallway was empty, so he and his team made their way out and headed in the direction Instructor Richards went.

As they were walking, Amy thought she heard screaming coming from outside. "Hey, do you hear that?" She and the others continued down the hallway and looked out a window overlooking the center of the campus.

To their horror, they saw prodigies running for their lives all around the center courtyard. Freshmen who weren't in class were panicking all over the place, unsure of what was happening. Instructors and campus security were running amidst the chaos, trying to restrain prodigies who had become violently belligerent. Raphael and the others thought they even saw prodigies biting each other as swarms of them slowly grabbed on to someone, dragging them to the ground. As they were watching, they heard a siren in the distance, slowly growing louder and louder. Before they could spot the source of the siren, an ambulance ran through the front gate, rolling onto its side as it plowed through a group of prodigies huddled around the one they dragged down.

"What the heck is going on?" asked Trey after witnessing the crash. Before he could say another word, he was tackled to the ground by a larger assailant. Raphael, Amy, and Susan moved back from the window as he came crashing to the ground. Trey tried to push the man off him, but he received a horrific bite to the neck, piercing his jugular.

"Trey!" said Raphael, finally realizing what was happening. Amy acted without hesitation and moved behind the attacker, placing her arms around him in a headlock to subdue him. As she tried to get the man off of him, the attacker bit her arm, unaffected by the headlock.

She let go of the man and moved away, gripping her wound. "The guy bit me!" To their terror, Trey lay motionless on the ground having bled out from his wound. Once the man stood up, they all recognized him instantly.

"Instructor Richards?" asked Susan in shock.

Before he could lunge at her, Raphael kicked him back with a sidekick, finishing him off with a roundhouse kick to the head, knocking him to the ground. "Amy! Are you okay?" he asked.

She took off her bandanna and wrapped it around her bite, wincing as she tightened it around her arm. "I'm fine. I've got it under control…for now. Check Trey."

Raphael bent down by his fellow classmate who was already in a pool of his own blood. He didn't think he was alive, but checked his pulse anyway, placing his hand to his neck. He shook his head and stood up. "He's gone."

"Just what the heck is going on!?" asked Susan. She was usually the calm one of the group, but after what she had witnessed, she couldn't help but feel panicked.

"I hate to say it, but…I think this is a zombie outbreak," said Raphael.

Amy walked over to him with an unconvinced look, still holding her arm. "A zombie outbreak. Really? There's got to be a more reasonable explanation for-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Susan interjected. "For the bite victims? The Code Black warning? The incident at the R&D building? For what happened to Trey and Instructor Richards! This _is_ a zombie outbreak, Amy." Immediately, a cruel reality crossed her mind. "And you've been bitten…" Susan started to back away from her and moved next to Raphael, pointing at her. "She's going to turn! She's going to become one of them. A zombie!"

"If I were going to become one of them, I would've done so already…right?" Amy had a fearful look on her face as she started coughing up blood. Looking up, she shakily pointed behind Raphael and Susan. They quickly turned around and saw four zombies walking towards them.

"C'mon, we...we can take them," said Amy.

"Not in your condition. C'mon, let's move before we're overrun," said Raphael as he started walking in the opposite direction, taking Amy by the hand.

Susan didn't follow and refused to move. "There's no way I'm going with her! She's been bitten. I'm sorry I'm acting this way, Amy, but you might end up killing me if I still with you."

"You're _going_ to die now by the zombies behind you if you don't move!" said Raphael. Susan cringed as she saw Instructor Richards start to move on the ground next to her. She shook her head then hurried behind him. They rushed down the hallway and made for the staircase.

"Why are going this way? Shouldn't we get help?" asked Susan.

"I'm betting those zombies can't go up stairs, so we should be safe on the upper floors," said Raphael.

"What about the others?"

"They'll be fine. They probably already barricaded the door by now."

"I mean our friends. Do you think they're okay?" Once they reached the top of the stairs, they stopped for a breather to plan their next move.

"I don't know. Maybe we should try giving them a call," said Raphael. He and Susan took out their phones and tried calling their friends. "No good. The lines have been commandeered by emergency services," he said.

After pocketing their phones, they heard banging and screaming coming from a nearby classroom. They looked at each other then slowly made their way over to the source of the noise. Once they looked through the door's window, Amy broke away and headed straight for the bathroom, gagging from the repulsive sight in the room. Raphael and Susan stayed, dumbstruck by what they were witnessing. There were zombies devouring fellow prodigies inside, blood splattered all over the room. They figured that there were around twenty-five prodigies in there, all of which were already turned or dead.

After she wet her lips at the water fountain, Amy stumbled into the bathroom, feeling sick to her stomach. She hurried to the sink and vomited, rinsing her mouth and face afterwards. "I'm going…to die." She let the words echo in her head as she broke down in tears, collapsing to the floor. When she finally pulled herself together, she got up and opened one of the stalls to relieve herself. As the door opened, a zombie popped out and charged at her. "Motherf*****!" she said, slamming the door in its face. Once the zombie was on the floor, she stomped its head into the ground with her foot. Looking at the sight of the dead corpse at her feet, she started sobbing again, realizing that she was soon going to turn out the same way.

Starting to feel ill from watching the mutilation of their classmates, Raphael and Susan went to find Amy. When they walked by the bathrooms, she came out, drying her tears with her sleeves. "Are you okay?" asked Raphael.

Unsure of how to react, whether with anger or compassion, she just looked down with a mute expression. "Yeah, I'm fine." A water drop fell on the tip of her nose, then another on her head. Before she could look up, the sprinkler system activated, drenching the three of them. The fire alarm was triggered, beeping and blinking throughout the building.

"Why is the fire alarm on?" asked Susan.

"I don't know. Maybe there's an actual fire somewhere," said Raphael. A mechanical buzz filled the hallways as all the doors to the classrooms unlocked and opened.

"Why did all the doors open all of a sudden?" asked Amy.

"It's the fire alarm. Once it's triggered, it overrides all locks and opens all the doors to make evacuation easier," said Susan.

Raphael was looking at all the open doors and saw blood flow out from more than one of them. "We need to move, now." He took Amy and Susan, leading them to another staircase, one that was off to the side and away from the main one.

"Raph! Why are we going up!? Shouldn't we be going down to get help?" asked Susan.

"If we went down, we would get caught in the large influx of students and staff, both dead and alive. We need to head up and away from everyone to assess the situation before we make a move out of here," said Raphael.

As they opened the door to the top floor, they all stopped before proceeding further. The hallways were filled with panicking students trying to get to the main staircase, pushing each other out of the way as they trampled over those who had fallen. Amongst the crowd, zombies continued to increase in number, catching unsuspecting students off guard. The instructors tried to fight their way to the staircase, but one after another, they succumbed to the horde and were devoured. When they walked onto the floor, one of the students was fiercely fighting against the zombies, protecting the group's rear from them.

After bashing a zombie's head in with a blunt object, she noticed Raphael and the others watching her. "Susan?"

"Haruhi?" said the three of them.

Once she spotted them, so did other students. "There's another staircase! Everyone, head to the side staircase!" said one of the prodigies.

"F***. Move! Into the classroom!" said Raphael, leading Amy and Susan into a nearby classroom. The students swarmed the staircase, attracting zombies as they flooded down the stairs.

Once the group of students was in the stairwell, one of the instructors stopped by the classroom where Raphael and the others took cover. "What are you still doing here? Follow us to the ground floor. We're evacuating the campus and heading to the base." While he was focused on getting Raphael's group to move, a zombie grabbed him from behind, digging its teeth into his neck.

"Close the door!" said Susan.

"I can't! It's the fire alarm! It's controlling the doors!" said Raphael.

The zombie wrestled the instructor to the ground and continued to feast on his flesh. Raphael was about to kick the zombie off him, but Haruhi intervened first and smashed the zombie's skull in with her weapon. More zombies started to approach, prompting the group to relocate to a better protected position.

"Where do we go now!?" asked Susan.

"We can't go forward. There's too many of them. And if we go back down the stairs, we're bound to encounter more of them on the lower floors," said Amy.

"The lab! The lab's doors aren't connected to the security system," said Haruhi. She and the others retreated into the classroom and went into the adjacent lab, closing the door behind them.

"That should hold them," said Raphael. Once everything was secure, they started to relax and caught a breather.

"Haruhi!" said Susan, overcome with joy as she ran over to her, embracing her sister. "I'm so happy that you're alive!"

"Yeah, me too, sis. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Richards' class on the first floor?"

"I was. But things happened and this and that, so we ended up here," said Susan, stepping back to look at her.

"Okay, but this is some crazy s***, right? Who would've thought I would actually get to use this thing in a zombie outbreak?" said Haruhi.

"You have no idea. By the way, what is that?" she said, pointing to her weapon.

"This? It's a paper cutter I requisitioned from the teacher work room. It's actually pretty good at killing zombies."

"Have you seen anyone else?" asked Raphael.

Haruhi looked away, fiddling with her weapon. "No. Well…yes."

"Who?" asked Susan.

"One of the Z Brothers. Zaku."

"You sure it was him?" asked Raphael.

"Yeah. I'm the one who killed him after he turned." There was a feeling of uneasiness between the four of them after hearing the news.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi. It must've been hard to do that," said Susan, hugging her sister again.

"It's fine. Hey, Amy's bleeding, is she all right?" asked Haruhi.

"She was bitten on our way up here."

Haruhi gripped her weapon and readied it to strike. "Then she needs to be taken care of! She could turn at any moment, just like everyone else!" She was about to swing, but Raphael and Susan intervened. Susan grabbed Haruhi and restrained her while Raphael moved between her and Amy.

"Hey, I'm still alive here, you know? Don't be so eager to kill me just yet," said Amy, coughing more blood into her hand.

Haruhi realized what she was doing and lowered her weapon. "I'm sorry, Amy. I've just seen too many people die because they failed to act sooner. It's nothing personal."

"It's all right, Haruhi. I'm sure you meant nothing by it," said Amy.

"So now what? We're stuck here on the top floor with a horde of zombies running all over campus," said Haruhi.

"It's more than that, Haruhi. Didn't you hear? A Code Black alert has been issued and Huntington has been put on standby. We heard gunfire and explosions coming from the base. For all we know, this outbreak could have spread to the base and even the city," said Susan.

"What's a Code Black alert anyway?" asked Amy.

"It signifies what kind of disaster is taking place. In this case, it's a black alert, meaning a serious disease or biological threat has been identified."

"So again, I ask. What are we going to do? We can't stay here. We have no supplies and there's a ticking time-bomb right next to us, no offense," said Haruhi.

Raphael paced around the room then took a seat. "I don't know. Where can we go? How are we going to get there?" They all stood around with their hands in their pockets, unsure of what to do next. Amy's condition started to worsen as she began coughing more frequently and with increasing intensity. "Just hang in there, honey. We'll find help," he said, putting his arm around her. Amy put her arm around him as well, snuggling up close to him, tears running down her cheeks. They waited in the room together for fifteen minutes before they heard something other than the moans of the zombies.

"Hey, do you hear that? It sounds like gun shots," said Susan.

"It's probably coming from next door," said Haruhi, sitting on the floor with her back against a desk.

"No. It sounds like it's coming from inside the building, this floor actually." She stood up and went to the door, placing her head near it. "Those are definitely gunshots."

"What should we do?" asked Haruhi.

They all turned to Raphael, waiting for him to say something. "What? What are you looking at me for?"

"What should we do?" asked Susan.

Raphael looked around and thought it over. "If they've got guns, we can get out of here. They can protect us."

"So s-should we go out t-to them?" asked Amy, shivering from the loss of blood and her soaked clothes.

"Let's get a move on. They might not find us cooped up in here," said Raphael. Everyone stood up and readied themselves to move out. He found a large, metallic meter stick to use as a weapon and acted as the vanguard with Haruhi, still wielding her paper cutter blade. Susan was going to help Amy walk and stayed behind them. "On the count of three, I'm opening the door. Haruhi, you rush through and take out the first zombie. I'll move in and get the second one to your right. Afterwards, we'll just hack and slash our way into the hall. Got it?" he said.

Haruhi nodded and prepared to charge in at the zombies. When he counted down, she stormed into the room and hacked at the first zombie, nearly decapitating him. Raphael moved in and smacked the second zombie in the head, finishing it with a sidekick. They cleared the way through the classroom and made their way into the hallway. Susan and Amy kept pace and followed behind them, keeping mindful of the zombies on the floor, just in case. When the room was clear, Raphael and Haruhi secured the hallway.

"All clear," said Haruhi.

"Okay. They shouldn't be far," said Raphael after hearing a couple more shots from down the hall. They quickly made their way to the source, turning the corner into the main hallway. As they did, Raphael was greeted with a pistol barrel in his face.

"Wait! Hold your fire." The person with the pistol lowered his gun and stepped aside. Once he moved out of the way, Raphael and the others were relieved as they recognized several members of the group.

"Instructor Ren? Instructor Takahashi? Debbie! I mean, Instructor Airre. Thank goodness you're alive," said Raphael.

"Prodigy Comet. It's good to see that someone made it. Are there others?" asked Carolyn, moving in front of the group. Along with her, Debbie, and Han, there were a few members of campus security and a few prodigies with them, all armed with weapons.

"Just a few of us. Prodigies Nagase, Stevens, and Okane are with me, ma'am." The others from his group came out from behind him and moved into the open.

Carolyn immediately noticed Amy's wound when she walked into view. "Prodigy Nagase. Was she bitten?"

"Yes, she was bitten when we were attacked by Instructor Richards."

"Goby…was infected?"

"Yes, ma'am. We don't know what happened to him after we fled up here."

She stood there for a moment, paralyzed with grief. She turned her back to him, trying to hold back her tears. "That's unfortunate to hear. How long ago was Prodigy Nagase bitten?" she said without hesitation.

"About an hour ago, ma'am."

"That's rather peculiar. Most of the others we encountered, after having been bit, turned in just a matter of minutes. How did she survive so long after being bitten?"

"I don't know, ma'am."

"Doesn't matter. Either way, we need to restrain her. Berner, cuff her."

One of the security guards stepped forward, but Raphael stepped in front of him. "Ma'am, is that really necessary?"

Ren turned around and faced him. "I could just shoot her now and get it over with. Would you rather me do that?"

"No, ma'am. But could you at least treat her wound. Her condition is getting worse."

"Fine. Capps, see what you can do."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Raphael, stepping aside for the security guards. Capps treated her wound and cleaned it up to the best of her ability before Berner handcuffed her.

"What are you doing up here anyway, ma'am? Shouldn't you all be evacuating or something?" asked Haruhi.

"What evacuation? There is no rescue. We already stopped by the main office to receive further orders, but we found the colonels zombified. We are on our own, boys and girls. We're rounding up all the survivors we can to form Sweep Teams to retake the academy. Once we clear the campus, we plan on securing the perimeter and holding out as long as we can. There's plenty of supplies already here to last awhile, so there's no need to leave quite just yet."

"If you're done chit-chatting, Carolyn, we have a campus to take back. Comet, you and the others better follow us if you want to make it to tomorrow," said Instructor Takahashi. He and Carolyn returned to the head of the group along with the security guards.

As Raphael and his group moved to join the others, one of the prodigies from Carolyn's group walked up to them. "Raph! Guys! You're still alive?"

"Steven! You made it!" said Raphael.

"So far. Is this all of you?"

"Yeah. We didn't see anyone else. Have you?"

Steven shook his head. "I hope the others are okay."

"Yeah, me too," said Susan. They continued to talk as they walked along with Carolyn's Sweep Team.

While they were walking down the main hallway, Raphael saw something in the courtyard after passing a window. "Instructor Ren! You better have a look at this!" Everyone stopped and hurried over to him, leaving room for Carolyn to make her way to the window with Raphael.

"What is it, Comet?" asked Carolyn. He pointed outside the window and directed her attention to a group of people fighting their way to the front gate. The group consisted of ten prodigies led by an instructor, and only a few of them had melee weapons to defend themselves. "What the heck do they think they're doing?" she asked.

"Hey, I think that's Z and Zander with them," said Haruhi.

"No way. They wouldn't recklessly go out there like that," said Amy.

"No, that's them all right," said Susan.

The group in the center courtyard was moving at a steady pace until one of the prodigies tripped and fell. The instructor and a majority of the prodigies stopped to help the downed student, forming a defensive circle around her. A few of the students didn't stop running and made it to the front gate, only to find that it was blocked by a burning vehicle. They tried climbing over it, but were dragged back down by zombies who caught a hold of their tails. The other people from the group were slowly surrounded by the mass amounts of zombies that had emerged from the buildings.

"We need to help them!" said one of the prodigies watching from the window.

"We can't help them. By the time we get down there, they'd already be dead and part of the zombie horde," said Carolyn.

"But we can get there if we hurry," said the prodigy.

"If we leave now, and rush through the building without properly clearing it, we'd not only lose those outside, but likely most of us as well."

"So you're just going to leave them out there?"

"There's nothing we can do."

"That's insane! I'm going to help them, with or without your help. Those of you who want to come, follow me." The prodigy ran off to try and save his fellow classmates outside, persuading most of the other prodigies from Carolyn's group to go with him.

"F***. Debbie, bring those kids back. Take Capps, Darr, and Berner with you," said Carolyn.

She acknowledged her, taking the rest of the security force with her in pursuit of the prodigies. The only ones left by the window were Carolyn, Han, Raphael, Susan, Haruhi, Amy, and Steven. As they continued to watch from the window, the zombie horde eventually took over the group, slaughtering everyone. Susan and Amy looked away from the grisly scene after seeing people they knew get eaten.

"Still think we can retake the campus, ma'am?" asked Raphael, turning to Carolyn with a concerned look.

She looked away from the window and the group, crossing her arms. "No. It seems things have gotten more out of hand than I thought."

"So what now, Carolyn?" asked Han.

She walked away from the group and stopped, contemplating on what to do in her head. She then motioned for Han to come to her to discuss their next move. As they were talking, Raphael felt relieved that he was no longer "in-charge". It was reassuring to him that someone else, someone older and with more experience, was leading them, though in their current situation, anything could happen regardless of who was leading the group. After discussing things through, Carolyn and Han returned to the prodigies.

"What's the verdict, ma'am?" asked Steven.

"We're going to continue searching for survivors and then get out of here," said Carolyn.

"Get out of here? How do you plan do that, ma'am? The front gate is blocked," said Susan.

"Simple. We drive out." Susan and Haruhi turned to each other, thinking that she didn't hear her. "You look troubled. But you assume that I plan on going through the front gate, correct?" Susan nodded as that was exactly what she was thinking. "Well, there is more than one exit on campus, you know. In Building B, there are garages on the first floor that students use to learn about ground vehicles and such. If I'm correct, there's bound to be something there we can use to drive out of here. The garage leads directly off campus and onto a nearby street. From there, we'll head into Huntington to see if we can regroup with other survivors."

The prodigies talked amongst themselves, realizing it was better than staying at the overrun academy. As they were talking, the others returned bearing bad news. Only three of them (Debbie, Capps and Darr) made it back alive; none of the prodigies that left returned with them.

"What happened, Debbie?" asked Carolyn, walking over to her to help with Darr.

"We ran after the prodigies, but got bogged down with zombies on the third floor. Darr tripped over a zombie and fell down the stairs, breaking his leg. Fortunately, he wasn't bitten. After we took care of the remaining zombies, we caught up with them on the first floor, but they were surrounded by the time we got there. On the way back up, Berner covered our retreat so we could escape. He didn't make it."

Carolyn gritted her teeth, frustrated that all the prodigies died while under her command. With the feeling of failure flowing through her, she completely broke down after she started having flashbacks of when she got her team killed. She erratically grasped her head with both her hands and knelt down on the ground. "They're all dead! Goby's dead! My only love is dead and it's all my fault!" She was crying madly as she sobbed on the ground.

"Carolyn? Carolyn!" Han walked over to her and lifted her to her feet, smacking her across the cheek. "Pull yourself together, Captain. This wasn't your fault. They made the decision, not you. We're in command here and these kids need us, so get your act together. If you need a minute to walk it off, fine. Capps, have you treated Darr yet?"

"Not yet, sir," she said, taking out her med-kit.

"Get to it. We move in five."

"So where are we going, sir?" asked Debbie.


	2. Chapter 2 - Survival of the Fittest

"We're going to look for survivors then vacate the premise. I'll brief you on the way." Once everyone was ready, Han and Debbie were at the head of the group, leading them to the cafeteria. They backtracked through the building and attempted to get the lobby. Unfortunately, they had to stop on the second floor because there were too many zombies to fight through to get there. "Why are there so many zombies? We already cleared this way when we got here," he said.

"It's like all the zombies are attracted to this building," said Debbie.

"It's the sounds. This building is probably the only one where the fire alarm is active, and zombies are attracted to sounds," said Raphael.

"How do you know that?" asked Amy.

"Saw it in an anime. You watched it, remember?"

"Oh yeah, _that_ anime…"

Han and Debbie looked for another way and decided to head to the cafeteria via the tunnel that connected the two buildings. Resistance was minimal, since most of the zombies had made their way outside to the center courtyard. The group, however, continued to maintain a firm sense of caution as they moved through the buildings.

"At least it's dry in here," said Haruhi as they entered the cafeteria.

Since Building A was the only building that had the fire alarm active, the other sprinkler systems weren't triggered in the other buildings. The adults spread out and secured the area, guns at the ready. The top floor of the cafeteria was clear, so they headed to the staircase leading to the ground floor. There were a few roaming zombies, the cooks and staff from the kitchen, but it wasn't a problem for Han and Carolyn. They skillfully picked them off one by one from the staircase, using only their handguns.

"Clear?" asked Han, slipping a fresh clip into his gun. Carolyn scanned the room then gave him a nod. They proceeded on and motioned for the others to follow once it was safe. "You all better grab something to eat while you can, but don't stuff yourselves too full that you can't run anymore. I have a feeling it's going to be awhile until we find food again. Try and find a bag to pack some non-perishable food items and water if you can, but don't take too long. We can't stay here."

Everyone sighed with relief and went through the buffet lines, grabbing a quick bite to eat. The food was relatively fresh, since lunch was next for the seniors. They all sat down at a table together and enjoyed a relative moment of normalcy amidst the anarchy. Capps tended to Darr's wounds and fixed up his bandages while the instructors discussed their next move. Susan and Haruhi finished their meals quickly and went into the kitchen to search for supplies.

"Find anything yet?" asked Haruhi, skimming through the shelves for anything useful.

"Not yet," said Susan. She searched around and came across various pieces of cutlery. A particular knife, a cleaver, caught her eye as it hung from a metallic holder on the wall. "This could prove useful." She liberated it from the wall and took the leather sheath that went along with it. She attached the leather piece to her belt and sheathed the cleaver in it. After finding a couple bags, and filling it with food and water bottles, they made their way back out and rejoined the group.

"Looks like you found some supplies. Is it too heavy? Because you're going to be the ones carrying them for now," said Han.

"We'll manage. These items are vital and will come in handy later. What about Amy?" said Susan.

"Don't worry, Susan. As her boyfriend, I should be the one to help her," said Raphael.

"So considerate of you…" said Amy, getting up from her seat.

Raphael and the others gathered their weapons and followed Han and Debbie to the next building, taking a similar tunnel that connected the buildings together. Again, resistance was minimal as they made their way down the halls and to the ground floor. When they arrived at the lobby, they stopped and looked out the window.

"This is it. Across the courtyard is Building B and our ticket out of here. Unfortunately, we're going to have to go out there and cross the courtyard to get there. The distance is relatively short, so it beats backtracking through all the buildings. Besides, all the zombies are concentrated around Building A's entrance," said Han.

"But, sir, what about Building E?" asked Susan.

"What about it, Stevens?"

"There could be survivors there."

Han looked at her then turned to Debbie. "Lieutenant, take Stevens, Okane, and Comet to Building E. Quickly check for survivors then report back here. We'll hold our position and plan our run to Building B."

Debbie nodded and led the way to Building E. "Let's get going, guys." Raphael asked Steven to watch Amy for him while he went with the others to the next building. They carefully walked down the tunnel and went through the final hallway to the aquatic center. "I doubt there's anyone here, but I guess it's for the best that we check anyway," said Debbie. When they arrived, they found the entire pool area void of people, dead or alive. "Looks like it's clear. We should head back now."

"What about the second floor?" asked Raphael.

Debbie rolled her eyes and headed for the staircase. "Fine...but if we get ambushed by a horde of zombies, it's your fault." They made their way up the steps and found themselves at the end of a hallway. They cautiously made their way down line of classrooms, checking all the rooms for any signs of life. "There's nothing here. Let's regroup and get out of here." As they were about to turn around and head back, one of the classroom's doors opened. Debbie drew her pistol while the others readied their melee weapons.

Once the person stepped out of the room, she was startled by the group and their weapons. "Whoa, what's with the weapons, guys?"

"Yumi?" said Raphael, Susan, and Haruhi.

"What's up?" she said, yawning. "Um, excuse me. I just woke up from my nap."

"Nap? What are you doing here? Don't you know what's going on?" asked Debbie, holstering her gun.

"I always come here to take a nap during lunch, and I got out early from class for some odd reason, so I came here. I tell ya, I really needed that nap. So what's with the weapons? Is that a paper cutter?" said Yumi.

Raphael and the others looked at each with disbelief then turned to Yumi. "We'll explain later, but we need to get out of here, now," said Debbie.

"Um, okay. Lead the way, ma'am." They hurried back down the steps and made their way back to the hallway. They were almost to the other building, but a group of zombies were blocking their path.

Once Yumi caught sight of them, she stopped in her tracks and shrieked with fright. "Holy…what the h*** are those? Are those…zombies!?"

"You have no idea. Susan, stay here and watch Yumi. We'll take care of this," said Debbie, drawing her pistol. She nodded and stayed back while the other three attacked the zombies.

They swiftly made quick work of them, but when there was only one zombie left, Raphael told the others to leave it to him. "Wait! Is that? Oh, boy. Leave this one to me guys." Debbie and Haruhi looked at each other and stood down. Raphael walked towards the zombie with a smile on his face. "Well well well, what have we here? The big, bad Sudoku. That's who. Who'd've thunk that you'd become one of the undead in the first day of the outbreak?"

"What's he doing?" asked Yumi.

"I think…he's finally getting his revenge on him," said Susan.

Raphael made sure to keep his distance as he continued to mock his undead rival. "Although I'm just _bursting_ with curiosity of how you got turned, I don't have the time to listen to your story. Now I know we're all buddy-buddy after that _incident_, but as much as I'd hate to do this, it must be done." He then outstretched his hand towards Haruhi. "Haruhi, if you'd please."

She looked at him with a confused look. "What? Do you want something?" Raphael looked at her weapon and made it obvious that he was doing so. "My weapon? Is that it?" He nodded. "Um, all right. Here."

Raphael took the paper cutter and readied to strike, taking a baseball stance. "Sorry, bro." He swung with all his might and bashed Sudoku in the head, knocking him across the hall. "Homerun…" He walked back to the group and handed back her weapon. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, slugger," said Haruhi.

"That was very…morbid," said Debbie, taking point with her pistol at the ready as they continued back to Han and the others. All the way back, Yumi had a blank look on her face, still shocked that there was a zombie outbreak happening and she didn't even know it. Once rendezvoused with the others, they had a renewed sense of hope as their friend made their way over to them.

"Is that? Dr. Sawbones! I can't believe, you of all people, made it this far," said Amy, coughing from all the excitement.

"Nice to see you too, Amy. You won't believe how I survived this long though," said Yumi. Before they left, she told everyone where she had been during the zombie outbreak.

After her little story, Han briefed everyone again about their run to the other building. "Is everyone ready? Remember, don't fight unless you really have to. We don't need to go attracting attention unnecessarily."

Everyone nodded and readied their weapons if they had one. He looked out the window and slowly opened the door, making sure not to make any sounds. Once the door was fully open, he motioned for everyone to move outside. Carolyn led the way with Han picking up the rear once they were outside. They gathered on the porch outside the building and looked around the courtyard, disgusted by all the zombies and bodies that littered the ground. Once they decided on the best route across, they began walking through the zombie infested area. Everything was going smoothly until they heard the sound of a cellphone ringing, prompting them to all freeze. They frantically looked around and found the source of the noise coming from a cellphone somewhere on the corpse of a dead military officer. Before they knew it, the horde of zombies was coming their way, hungry for flesh.

"Run! Get to the door!" said Carolyn as she and the other instructors laid down suppressing fire with their handguns. The prodigies and the remaining security guards sprinted for the door and entered the building followed by the three instructors. Once inside, and the door closed, they made sure the area was zombie-free before they stopped for a breather.

"That was a close one," said Yumi, panting from the sudden sprint to safety.

"Who was that anyway?" asked Raphael.

"That…was Colonel Noland of Research and Development. I guess he and his son didn't make it out before the outbreak struck here," said Susan.

"If his phone was ringing, does that means our cellphone service is up?" asked Yumi.

"Not likely. The lines are reserved for emergency personnel only," said Debbie.

"And high-ranking military officers," said Carolyn, walking back to the door to look at the phone through the window. "Colonel Noland must be among the few officers who can use their phones during these sorts of crisis situations. If we can get that phone, we can call for help."

"And how do you plan on getting that phone, Carolyn?" asked Han.

"Simple. I'll ran out and grab it. These zombies aren't very fast, so I can easily maneuver around them."

"And you're probably wanting Debbie and I to provide covering fire, right?"

"Couldn't hurt," she said with a wink.

Han took a moment to think it over. "You have thirty seconds." Carolyn smirked while Debbie rolled her eyes. "Prodigies, stay here and watch our backs. Capps, if by some chance we don't return, you're in charge. We'll just be right outside."

He and Debbie went outside and took up firing positions while Carolyn prepared for the run. Once she gave the signal, she sprinted for the phone while the others covered her. She refrained from shooting for the first few moments, but as she got closer to the phone, the zombie density increased. She fired a few shots to clear the zombies directly on top of the phone while Han and Debbie took out the ones near her. She slid and swiftly patted down the corpse in search for the phone. She found it inside his jacket pocket and took it, sprinting back to the others. Han and Debbie alternated reloading their pistols, and continued to cover her until she made it back to them safe and sound. Once she was inside, the other two instructors followed closely behind and secured the door.

"It seems like you still have some moves on ya, Carolyn," said Han, reaching for another pistol magazine.

"A Crimzon Rose never loses her touch, especially one of my caliber. At least you can still shoot. I would've thought you'd grow rusty since becoming a teacher."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said with a smile, sliding the magazine home.

"Glad you made it back it one piece, ma'am," said Debbie.

"Well I had help. Thanks," said Carolyn. She took the phone, but stopped before she dialed a number. "Who should I call?"

"Call General Diez. If there's anyone who can arrange for an evac, it's him," said Han.

"I don't know his number."

They stood for a moment, stumped until Raphael spoke up. "I know his number."

Han and Carolyn looked at him with skepticism. "You know the General's number?" asked Carolyn.

"Yeah. He and I are close since he and my dad are good friends. He gave me his number to use in case of extreme emergencies. I think this qualifies." Carolyn shrugged and handed him the phone to dial in the number. Once he did, he handed it back to her to call for help.

The phone rang three times before someone answered, but to her surprise, it wasn't Rodrigo on the other end. "This is Agent Sands of Blackwatch. Code in."

Carolyn was confused and tried to ask for help anyway. "This is Captain Carolyn Ren, Army Crimson Roses, from Centre Ridge Academy. I am stranded on the campus with eleven other survivors, including Captain Hanzo Takahashi, Army Delta Force, and 1st Lieutenant Deborah Airre, Air Force Para-rescue. We need evac, ASAP."

There was a slight moment of silence before the agent replied. "I'm sorry. We are in control of all communications coming in and out of this area. This is a restricted line reserved for Blackwatch personnel _only_. I cannot offer assistance until the proper passcode has been given. Records show that the number you are using belongs to Colonel Noland. Put him on the line."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, _Agent Sands_. Colonel Noland is dead. We found his phone on his corpse."

"Then_ I'm_ afraid I can't help you. Good luck." He hung up before Carolyn could insist she speak to his superior. She tried calling again, but the line remained dead. "F***! He blocked the number."

"Who blocked the number? Who is this '_Agent Sands'_?" asked Han.

"He said he was part of '_Blackwatch_' and that all communications going in and out from this area were under _their_ control," said Carolyn, tossing the phone on the ground.

"I've never heard of them," said Han.

"Me neither," said Carolyn.

"So what do we do now, ma'am?" asked Steven.

"We continue with our plan. We make our way to the garage and evac from there," said Han.

"Before we continue, we're going to need more ammo. I'm on my last mag," said Debbie.

"I guess I could use more ammo as well," said Han, patting his jacket for more mags.

"Isn't there an armory in this building?" asked Carolyn.

"On the second floor. There's enough ammunition and weapons there to arm all of us to the teeth," said Han.

"Then let's get going. The faster we get the ammo, the faster we can get out of here," said Debbie. Han took the lead and made his way to the stairs with the group. On the way there, the instructors nearly exhausted all their ammunition just trying to get up to the second floor.

"Clear left," said Carolyn.

"Clear right, said Han. "Wait, did you hear that?"

"Gunshots. Lots of high-caliber gunshots. Seventy meters, down that hall," said Carolyn.

The group hurried to assist the other survivors and found themselves approaching the firing ranges. Han had Debbie and the others wait a few feet back, just in case the gun-toting survivors weren't as friendly as he had hoped. He motioned for Carolyn to back him up as he approached the source of the gunfire.

When he came to the room the range was in, he decided to try words first before he poked any of his appendages into the doorway. "This is Capt. Hanzo Takahashi. Any survivors in there?"

"Yeah. This is Capt. Jonathan Dica. I'm hold up here with eight prodigies. It's good to hear from ya, Han."

"We're coming in. Tell your prodigies to hold their fire." After a few seconds, Jonathan gave the all clear and they entered the room. Once it was safe, Han motioned for the others to follow him in.

"It's good to see so many of you made it," said Han, giving Jonathan a handshake.

"Likewise. How many are with you?"

"Twelve of us, including me." The others from Han's group entered the room and joined the conversation.

"Good to see you're still alive," said Raphael as he helped Amy into the room.

"Me too. How are you doing? Hey, is Amy okay?" asked Jonathan.

"She's been bitten, but don't worry. She's fine for now."

Jonathan gave her a guarded look, but smiled with relief. "Well, at least you're still alive."

As they were talking, another familiar face reared her head, carrying a sniper rifle proudly in her hands. "Look who showed up?"

"Jesse! You're alive!" said Yumi, running over to her.

"What's up, Jess?" asked Haruhi, engaging in their secret handshake.

"Nothin' much. Just killing me some zombies," said Jesse with a content smile on her face.

The prodigies conversed with each other while Susan and Haruhi passed out food and water bottles. Capps took out her medical supplies and treated any injuries the prodigies from Jonathan's group had.

The instructors talked amongst themselves off to the side, away from them. "What's your ammo situation?" asked Han.

"We've got several .308 sniper mags for Jesse's rifle and a few 9mm pistol mags left for my sidearm, but that's it. We've used up most of it making our last stand in here."

"Last stand?" asked Carolyn.

"During the initial outbreak, it was pure chaos. I rounded up as many people as I could and headed here. There were around twenty of us then," said Jonathan.

"At least you were able to save some of them. Anyway, we can't stay here. We were on our way to the armory when we came across you and your group. We plan on heading to the garage on the first floor, which hopefully has a working vehicle we could use to escape," said Han.

"After that, we plan on regrouping with survivors at Huntington, assuming that there are any," said Carolyn.

"It sounds like a plan. The armory is just down the hall. I would've gone myself, but I didn't want to endanger any of the prodigies," said Jonathan.

"Well the coast is clear now, so we can make it there without a problem," said Debbie.

Once the prodigies had rested and eaten a snack, Han and Jonathan took point while Carolyn and Debbie picked up the rear. They had no trouble reaching the armory, and when they arrived, Han input the code which unlocked the sturdy security door. Upon entering, he quickly dispatched the zombified guard behind the security counter and input the code to gain access to the ammunition and weapon storage room.

"All right, prodigies. Before we let you loose, I want to make sure you understand that you are about to use _live_ ammunition. If you need help, _please_, ask one of the adults for help. Do not try anything you are uncomfortable with," said Han. After his brief safety talk, he let everyone choose their guns and ammunitions.

The armory had plenty of weapons to choose from. Most of the prodigies were freshmen and had not handled real guns before. The instructors gave them a brief lesson in firearm handling and issued them a handgun to use. Raphael and the other upper-classmen were already comfortable with using guns and chose bigger caliber ones. Raphael and most of his friends stuck with the standard assault rifle to use, using several handguns as backup weapons, piling on as much ammunition as they could onto their person. Jesse continued to use her sniper rifle and brought along a pistol as well.

"I never thought I'd get a chance to use one of these while at the academy," said Raphael, loading a fresh magazine into his rifle.

"Don't look so excited, Raph. This isn't a game," said Amy. She was too weak to handle an assault rifle, so she chose a small sub-machinegun to use instead. Before she could pick it up, she went over to Carolyn whom made Berner remove her cuffs. Once they were off, she rubbed her wrists and retrieved her weapon.

"I wasn't insinuating anything. I just like this particular rifle, that's all." She gave him a cautious look, then turned away, coughing heavily.

Once they all were armed and stocked with ammunition, they made their way down to the first floor towards the vehicle garage. When they came across zombies, the first-time gun users hesitated to use their weapons and relied on the others for help. Raphael and the others had no problem at all and opened fired on the zombies any chance they got. They engaged the enemy professionally and aimed for their head, firing in short, controlled bursts to conserve ammunition.

"I think this is the garage," said Han, moving up to a large, steel door. He slowly opened it and entered, triggering the automatic lights. The room became illuminated and revealed a large, wide area, filled with hydraulic lifts and other mechanical tools used on cars and land vehicles. They all hurried into the room and looked for a vehicle to bring them to safety. To the group's relief, Jonathan spotted a promising looking vehicle at the other end of the room.

As they made their way over to the vehicle, Jonathan inspected it. "What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a Mark-IV V20 APC. This armored vehicle comes standard with a 20mm Gatling gun, remotely operated from the inside, of course, enough armor plating to deflect most types of small arms fire, and enough room to comfortably seat eight people, not including the driver and gunner."

Carolyn, Han, and Debbie looked at him, surprised, yet impressed with his knowledge of the vehicle. "How in the world do you know all that? You're air jockey, not a ground pounder," said Carolyn.

"I took an armored vehicle driving course my senior year. It was a filler class," said Jonathan.

"An armored vehicle driving course? Does that mean you can drive this thing?" asked Han.

"Well, I got an A in the class," said Jonathan with a smile.

Carolyn and Han exchanged impressed looks. "All right. You know what to do, Captain," said Carolyn.

"Roger that." He looked for the vehicle's access panel and lowered the back hatch to get inside. He made his way to the driver's seat and started up the engine.

As he was getting the APC ready to leave, Han inspected the personnel hold with dissatisfaction. "We're not all going to fit in here, Carolyn."

"I know. Either we risk riding on the roof or we have to make two runs."

"What do you want to do?" asked Han.

"There's not enough room on the top for the rest of us, so it looks like we're going to have to make two runs," she said, heading into the APC to tell Jonathan. After telling him of the plan, she went back out to help the others onto the vehicle. The seven prodigies from Jonathan's group, not including Jesse, piled in first since most of them were freshmen and wounded. Darr was also loaded into the APC since he had a broken leg. As they were loading in, Carolyn told Capps to get on as well.

"But ma'am, I can still fight. Let some of the other prodigies go instead of me," said Capps.

"Darr and the others need your medical expertise, so you need to go with them. Don't worry, my prodigies are more than capable of handling themselves," said Carolyn.

Capps looked at her prodigies, then to her. "Thank you, ma'am." Carolyn nodded as Capps went into the APC along with the others.

"C'mon, Carolyn, on you go," said Han as he finished securing everyone into their seats.

"Me? No, you should go. You're already inside," said Carolyn.

"I insist," he said, stepping off the APC.

He attempted to grab her hand, but she withdrew it before he could grasp it. "Please, you should go. They're going to need a strong leader once Jonathan drops you off, wherever it may be."

He saw in her eyes that she wasn't going to change her mind. "All right, Carolyn. Just make sure you stay alive until Jonathan returns, all of you."

"Don't worry about me. I've got Debbie to back me up, and Raphael and the others are the best prodigies I know." Han smiled and sat down in his seat, closing the back door to the vehicle.

"Um, can someone get the door? I don't feel like testing this APC's durability by running down the door. There should be a pad with the door's controls on the left side," said Jonathan through the vehicle's loudspeaker. Debbie walked over and located the buttons, waiting for a command to open the door.

"Are you ready, Jonathan!?" said Carolyn as loud as she could.

"Ready when you are," said Jonathan.

She looked to her prodigies, prompting them to ready their weapons. Once they were ready, she gave Debbie the go ahead. Debbie pressed the button which opened the garage door for Jonathan's APC. Once there was enough space, he hit the gas, driving the APC out of the garage and onto the street. Debbie hit the button to close the door once he was gone, but the door's mechanical motor malfunctioned, creating a screeching, metallic sound.

"Debbie, close the door!" said Carolyn as she spotted zombies on the street start walking towards them.

"It's not responding! The door's jammed."

As the zombies grew nearer, Debbie backed away from the door and grabbed her rifle, popping off a few shots at the closest zombie. Carolyn ordered everyone into a firing line and opened fire, dropping the zombies in front of them. Unfortunately, all the gunfire did was attract more zombies with the noise. With the garage door stuck open, Raphael and the others started to feel the pressure as the horde got closer and closer.

"Ma'am! We can't hold this position!" said Debbie, emptying an entire clip into the wall of zombies.

"Right. Fall back! Back into the hallway!" said Carolyn. They all turned tail and hurried back into the building, shutting the door. Carolyn figured that staying inside the building wasn't the best of choices, so they headed for the roof. From there, they were able keep an eye out for Jonathan when he returned while keeping well out of reach from the zombie horde below.

"All right, everyone. We'll wait up here until Jonathan returns," said Carolyn, opening the door to the roof. _'…if he ever does.'_ The group followed her up the stairs and exited onto the roof.

"What is that? Wait, it's a transport! There's a ship over there!" said Jesse, pointing across the rooftop.

"It looks like an Albatross. One of the newer models," said Raphael as he helped Amy along. "See, honey? We're going to make it after all." She grumbled in response, limping along with him and the others.

As they approached the dropship, two figures exited the personnel hold to greet them. "Hello there! Do any of you know how to fly this thing!?"

"That voice seems familiar, doesn't it?" asked Raphael.

"Yeah, because it's Kyle!" said Jesse.

"Guys? It's Jesse, and the others! They're all alive!" said Kari. She and Kyle hurried over to the group to see how they were doing.

"Kyle, Kari!? What are you guys doing up here?" asked Yumi.

"Kari and I always come up here, to you know…_practice_ _anatomy_," said Kyle with a sly look on his face. Kari nudged him in the arm, red in the face from the embarrassment.

"Why are you guys wet?" asked Kari.

"The sprinklers went off in Building A. It was a mess all throughout the place," said Haruhi.

"Did I hear that you _always_ come up here?" Kari and Kyle froze as they saw Carolyn come into view in front of them. "Coming up here unsupervised is against the rules, and _you_ _know_ how I feel about prodigies breaking the rules, but…given the circumstances, I'll let it slide." Kari and Kyle loosened up, giving a slight chuckle.

Their chatter was suddenly silenced when Amy started coughing fiercely, profusely spilling blood from her mouth. She fell to the ground and started having painful spasms.

"Amy! Hang in there! We're almost out of here," said Raphael as he knelt down next to her, caressing her in his arms.

"What's the matter with Amy?" asked Kari with a shocked look on her face.

"She was bitten," said Susan, stepping back from the scene.

Carolyn had everyone stand back and drew her sidearm, aiming it at Amy's head. "She's turning. Stand back, Raphael."

"She's not turning! She's going to make it!" sad Raphael, holding her close to him.

"Move, Raphael, or I'm going to take the shot right now, and believe me, I'm a pretty good shot," said Carolyn.

Once her coughing subsided, Amy spoke as Raphael was sobbing over her. "Raph, don't let her…shoot…me."

"Don't worry, baby. I'm not going to let her do it."

"If you don't move in five seconds, I'm going to fire." She started slowly counting down as Raphael clung to Amy. He suddenly froze with grief as she whispered something into his ear.

"…three…two…one."

She was about to pull the trigger until Raphael shouted at the top of his lungs. "STOP!" She stopped her finger and didn't fire, lowering her weapon. Laying Amy gently on the ground, he stood up and walked towards Carolyn. "I'll do it. I'll shoot her." Everyone around them was stricken with dismay and grief. Carolyn thought she didn't quite hear him correctly and stood dumbstruck by his suggestion. "I need to be the one to do it," he said. She looked at him for a moment then holstered her pistol, understanding perfectly the position he was in. "Thank you, ma'am," said Raphael, drawing his own sidearm. He walked back over to Amy and aimed his gun.

Amy had crawled away from the ship and was sitting with her back against a wall. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Raph, but I don't want to turn into one of them."

"I understand," said Raphael. They stared at each other in silence, spending the remainder of their time together in peace.

A sharp pain arose in her chest, causing her to writhe in pain as she grabbed at her heart. "Argh! Do it! Kill me now!"

Raphael hesitated with the pistol and kept it aimed at her head. As the tears flowed down his cheeks, he was only able to mutter three words as a final goodbye. "I love you."


	3. Chapter 3 - Losing Hope

She smiled, slowly fading away. "I love you, too." With that said, he fired a single shot to her cranium, ending her pain and suffering for good. He stood, looking at her lifeless body strewn out on the ground in front of him. He knelt down by her and kissed her forehead before moving away. His friends stood by, bowing their heads in sorrow.

Carolyn was even grief-stricken, letting a few tears flow freely. After a few moments had passed, she walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing, Raphael. At least you and Amy were able to share her last moments together peacefully, before she turned. Now, she doesn't have to suffer anymore."

"Let's just get going," said Raphael, holstering his pistol.

"What are we going to do, ma'am? Raph, do you know how to fly this thing?" asked Kyle. Raphael didn't respond and just sat in the back of the transport, sulking in the corner by himself.

After no one said anything, Susan broke the tension. "I can fly it. It's basically the same type of ship we used to train in while using the simulators, before we moved on to the larger ships. Haruhi, I don't think Raphael is in any condition to fly, so can you be my co-pilot. I'll manage the majority of the piloting. You just do what I tell you to, okay?"

"Sure. I can do that," said Haruhi.

"Okay, everyone onboard. Stevens, Okane, get this craft ready for takeoff," said Carolyn. Susan and Haruhi quickly got onboard and went to the cockpit. Everyone else got secured in the personnel hold and closed the side doors.

"Hang tight, guys. We'll be off in a sec," said Susan as she prepped the ship for takeoff. She wasn't fully familiar with the flight controls, but she was able to find the basics and got the ship's engines started.

"Well you better hurry, because they broke the door!" said Yumi as she watched a horde of zombies pile onto the roof through her window. Haruhi started to panic, but Susan tried to keep her cool and skipped a few steps in the pre-flight procedures. "Hang on everybody!" She disengaged the locks and engaged the thrusters, lifting off from the rooftop. Once she was high enough away from the building, she turned the ship and headed into Huntingon AFB.

"We did it! We're finally out of the hell hole!" said Jesse. Before Susan could smile with relief, a warning sound blared inside the cockpit.

"What the heck is that?" asked Haruhi.

Susan looked around the console and noticed something that made her heart sink. "Uh, guys, we have some bad news and some really bad news."

"What's the bad news, Stevens?" asked Carolyn.

"We barely have any fuel and with what we have left, we'll last about…a couple minutes, ma'am."

"And the really bad news?" asked Carolyn, wondering what could possibly be worse than having no fuel.

"I can't find a place to land…" Everyone sat in their seats with a vexed look on their faces. Suddenly, the ship started to shudder and began its decent back to the ground.

"I'm going to die!" said Kyle as he cried in his seat.

Carolyn remained calm and tried keep situation under control. "Stevens, can you bring us in without power?"

"I can try, ma'am. I can glide us in, but I can't guarantee it'll be a smooth landing."

"Do it. We're counting on you."

Susan nodded back then nervously turned back to her flight console. Haruhi was next to her, gripping the seat for her life. Susan tried to relax and grabbed the stick, aiming for a strip of street to bring the ship down on. As she glided the ship in, mostly everyone in the back were screaming for their lives. Carolyn tried to remain positive, but she was having doubts in her head that a prodigy still in the academy could pull off the landing successfully.

As they came closer to the ground, Susan counted down before they made impact with the pavement. "Brace yourself in five…four…three…two-" She underestimated the distance and hit the ground before her estimated time. The impact rocked the ship violently as it skid into a nearby building, plowing through the front of it and coming to a stop near the center. Remarkably, the ship was still intact, for the most part, and everyone was still alive with minor bruises and cuts. Once the ship came to a complete halt, Susan looked over and noticed Haruhi sitting motionless in her chair. Grimacing at the assumption that she was dead, Susan unbuckled her harness and went into the personnel hold, opening the door.

Carolyn came to her senses and saw her leave the ship. "Stevens, where are you going? Come back here."

Susan exited the ship and completely lost her mind. "F***! What's the use anymore!" She fell to her knees and went into the fetal position, rambling incoherently. "I did everything I could. I did everything to the best of my ability! There's nothing left. Everyone's dead. Mom's dead. Dad's dead. Haruhi's dead. WHAT IS THERE LEFT!? WHY!? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!? I know why. It's because I'm a bad person. Is that it? It must be it." She started laughing maniacally as her mind completely shut down.

"Get back in here! You don't know what's out there!" said Carolyn as she struggled to get her harness off.

As Susan was lying in the debris of the crash, a zombie emerged from the rubble and grabbed her arm. Before she could react, it bit her hand and wouldn't let go. "AH! GET OFF ME!" Struggling with the pistol in her holster, she reached for her cleaver and struck the zombie in the neck. She continued to hack at it until its head was cleaved fully off from its shoulders. She removed the zombie's head from her hand and back away from the corpse. "I'VE BEEN BIT!" She started shivering with fright, looking at her hand and the blood dripping off her fingertips. She then eyed her cleaver and grasped it, raising it into the air.

As Carolyn looked on from her seat, her eyes widened as she deduced what Susan was about to do next. "Stop! Don't do it!"

Ignoring her words, Susan readied herself, breathing heavily with anticipation. "I'M NOT GOING TO BE ONE OF THEM! AHHHH!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, and without hesitation, amputated her hand in one fell swoop, just above the wrist. She cringed from the pain then smiled madly, looking at her arm where her hand used to be. "LOOK! I DID IT! I'M NOT INFECTED ANYMORE!" By that time, Carolyn and the others were able to get out of their harnesses and rushed over to her. Haruhi was still knocked out and still strapped to her seat.

"Why would you do that to yourself!?" asked Kari, sobbing at the sight of her friend.

"Don't you see? I was able to stop the virus before it could spread to the rest of my body. I'm going to be fine…" said Susan, walking shakily toward them. She took a few more steps before collapsing to the ground from the blood loss. She severed a vital artery which caused her to bleed out rapidly.

"Yumi! You're the medical student. Save her!" said Jesse.

Carolyn looked over at Yumi, noticing the helpless expression on her face. "Baiorin, can you help her?"

Yumi looked away from Susan to Carolyn. "I-I wasn't trained on how to deal with this. I can only handle bullet wounds and small gashes, not entire amputations! I don't know what to do, ma'am."

"How long does she have?" asked Carolyn.

Yumi knelt down next to Susan, doing everything she could to stop the bleeding. Susan was lying on her back, breathing heavily as she fought to stay conscious. She was hesitant to even touch her dying friend's body, but pulled through and placed her hand on her chest. "Not long. She's lost too much blood and the virus has already spread to the rest of her body, contrary to what she believed." She moved away as did everyone else, sobbing as they watched their dying friend's last moments, knowing what was going to happen next.

Carolyn walked over to Susan and drew her sidearm. "Stevens, can you hear me?"

Susan opened her eyes and looked into hers. "Ma'am, I'm cold..."

She cringed and looked away as Susan breathed her last breath. Raphael and the others stood by and fearfully waited for her to turn. Carolyn checked her pistol and aimed it at Susan. They waited frightfully before her body started to twitch a few seconds later. Once Carolyn was sure she had turned, she planted a bullet in her brain, silencing her for good.

Nodding her head in disgust, she turned back to her students, holstering her handgun. "I know you all must be full of grief for your deceased friends, but right now, we can't afford to waste any time crying over what can't be changed. Check the ship for supplies and gather weapons. Where's Okane?"

They all looked around and couldn't find her. "I don't know, ma'am. I'll check the cockpit," said Jesse.

While she went to go check on her, Carolyn and the others looked through the crashed ship. Haruhi was alive, but knocked out, so Jesse freed her from her harness and got Kari to help her out of the cockpit. As they were carrying her into the personnel hold, the ominous sound of a zombie moan came over them. They all left the ship and looked up above them. Zombies were falling from the second floor through the large hole caused by the crash.

"There's too many of them!" said Steven, shooting a zombie as it tried to stand up.

Carolyn quickly assessed the situation and decided that a tactical retreat was in order. "Everyone, follow me! Get to the door!" She cleared a way through the zombies and opened the door leading into the hallway. Everyone grabbed what they could at the moment and followed closely behind, shooting all the zombies that got too close. Jesse and Kari continued to carry the unconscious Haruhi while the others protected them.

Carolyn opened the door across the hall and quickly scanned the area before signaling her students inside. "Hurry! Over here!" They all hurried inside while Carolyn covered them with her pistol, shutting and locking the door once everyone was accounted for. "Is everyone okay?"

"I'm fine, ma'am," said Debbie.

Carolyn made her way into the room and looked around. The room was mostly dark with only a few emergency lights providing few spots of illumination. "Can someone hit the lights?" Debbie looked around near the door and flipped the light switch. The room's ceiling lights came to life and lightened up the area. Once they could see clearly, everyone looked around and saw uniforms and tactical gear galore. There were several rows of shelves lined up next to each other, running the length of the room.

"It seems like we've stumbled upon one of the base's main supply rooms for ground infantry. I'm guessing…an air force unit's supply room based on the uniforms we have here," said Carolyn as she inspected the gear.

"Somebody wake up Haruhi. We can't be carrying her like this," said Debbie.

Jesse knelt down next to her and tried shaking her awake. "Hey, wake up, Haruhi. Get up already." Once the shaking didn't work, she smacked her across the cheek.

Haruhi jolted awake and looked around. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You're safe…for now anyway. After we crashed, we had to high tail it to another room," said Jesse. She helped her stand up and brushed all the dirt and dust off of her.

Haruhi looked around but didn't see Susan around. "Where's Susan?"

Everyone looked at each other, unsure of how to tell her about the news. Kari was about to tell her what happened, but Carolyn stepped in, "She died in the crash, isn't that right, Yumi?" They all exchanged confused glances then turned to Yumi.

She was confused as to why Carolyn was lying about her death, but soon realized it would be better to tell her a lie rather than tell her what really happened, for her sake. "Um, yeah. I checked and didn't find a pulse. I'm sorry, Haruhi."

Haruhi immediately lost it and grabbed at the door. "Susan! You can't be dead!"

"Restrain her! Don't let her open that door!" said Carolyn. Kari and Jesse rushed to her side and pulled her away from the door. Haruhi struggled for a bit then stopped resisting, dropping to the ground in tears. Kari and Jesse stayed by her side and tried to console her.

"Well, we better get changed out of these soaked clothes while we can. This skirt is definitely not adequate for evading zombies." Carolyn took of her shirt and began undoing her boot straps. "What are you all looking at? Go find a uniform that fits you and gear up…now." Raphael and the others snapped out of their stupor and went to find a change of clothes.

"That was scary…" said Kyle as he walked along with Raphael and Steven to the section with men's sizes. Kari and the rest of the others stayed with Carolyn and looked for uniforms with female sizes.

"What? The crash or…Susan?" asked Raphael.

"Well those, but I actually thought…that I was starting to get aroused when I saw Instructor Ren topless like that."

Raphael wasn't sure he heard him correctly and rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot, Kyle. That's something you should just keep to yourself, man." Kyle chuckled to himself as they looked for uniforms their size.

Even though not everyone had soaked clothes, they thought actual military gear would prove more useful than the academy uniforms they were currently wearing. Raphael and most of the other prodigies found basic infantry uniforms that fit them and changed out of their soaked clothes. Yumi found a medic version of the uniform while Debbie and Carolyn fancied the officer versions. After changing into the basic uniform, which consisted of a jacket, pants, an undershirt, and boots, they looked for other tactical gear that would be beneficial in the field. They put on riot-style tactical vests, which not only offered additional protection for their necks and shoulders, but also didn't obstruct their mobility and flexibility. The vests utilized the MOLLE system, which allowed each of them to customize the vest to their liking, mixing and matching various pouches and holsters. After their vests, they all acquired a set of elbow and knee pads for added protection. They finished their loadouts by finding a suitable set of gloves and helmet.

"Everyone ready? What's our supply situation?" asked Carolyn. They all took inventory of what they were able to scavenge from the ship, bringing everything together. Before they had to retreat, they were only able to retrieve four assault rifles, Jesse's sniper rifle, Amy's sub-machinegun, a small med-kit, and only one of the supply bags. Fortunately for them, they all had their handguns and the gear that was already stashed on them. "It's not much, but it'll have to do," she said, surveying the weapons and supplies they had left.

"How are we divvying up the weapons?" asked Debbie.

"You and I will get an assault rifle. As for the other two, Kari, Kyle, they're yours." They smiled with approval as they each took a rifle from Carolyn.

"Well, no one's taking my rifle," said Jesse, taking her sniper rifle and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Who wants the sub-machinegun?" asked Carolyn. Those who were lacking a gun didn't bother saying anything; they waited for Raphael to take the weapon since it used to be Amy's.

After a few seconds of silence, he gave in and took the gun. "I'll take it. It's the only thing I have left of Amy." He took the sub-machinegun and made sure it was loaded.

"Okay. As for the rest of you, I guess you'll have to use your sidearms for now," said Carolyn. The rest of the prodigies nodded and checked their pistols. "Conserve your ammo. Only shoot at what you can hit." She readied her rifle and walked to the door, looking out the window. "We need to get out of this building and regroup with whoever we can from the base. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Debbie. The other prodigies readied themselves and gave a nod.

"All right. Stay close and keep alert." Carolyn opened the door and took out three zombies directly in front of her. Raphael and the other prodigies followed closely behind with Debbie picking up the rear. Carolyn led the group down the halls and found what seemed to be an exit. She slowly opened the door and peeked outside, looking down an empty street. "It looks clear. Let's go." She and the others exited the building and moved onto the street.

Once they were outside, Steven looked to his left and saw a horde of zombies rambling about just down the street. "That's a lot of zombies."

"Ma'am, I thought you said it was clear?" asked Kari.

"I said it _looks_ clear," said Carolyn, cursing to herself after spotting another large group of zombies to their right flank.

"What do we do know, ma'am?" asked Debbie.

Carolyn looked around and decided that there were too many zombies to fight through. "Shoot. Let's head back inside and find another way." She moved through the group and tried to open the door, but to her dismay, it was locked. She tugged on it harder, but it wouldn't budge.

"Ma'am?" asked Kyle.

"It's locked! We're stuck out here," said Carolyn, kicking the door in frustration.

"Well, you better think of something quick, the zombies are closing in on us," said Debbie.

"Should we fire?" asked Raphael.

Carolyn turned around from the door and took a moment to assess the situation. "We need to relocate to better defendable position, preferably a high ground."

"But where!? We're totally surrounded!" said Yumi as the zombies continued closing in on their position.

"There! Up the stairs to the PT platform!" said Haruhi.

"Roger that, Okane. Go go go! Open fire!" said Carolyn, leading the way. She and the others opened fire with their weapons while sprinting for the stairs. Carolyn got there first and covered the others as they went up the stairs to the platform.

"C'mon, Carolyn! We're all up here!" said Debbie as she reloaded her rifle.

"Almost done," said Carolyn. Once her magazine was empty, she went up the stairs to join the others. "Is everyone okay?" They all gave a thumbs up and checked their guns. Carolyn walked around the platform and surveyed the surrounding area. The platform wasn't connected to any building, so the only ways off was either by taking the railcar or by going back down the stairs.

"Ma'am, it's starting to get dark. We need to find shelter," said Debbie.

"I know. But there's not many places we can go now. They've surrounded the platform already and it'll be near impossible to force our way through," said Carolyn. The two of them thought about their next move while the prodigies meandered around the platform.

"Ma'am, if we need a place to sleep, we can just go to my place," said Haruhi as she made her way over to them.

"Your place? Where exactly would that be?" asked Carolyn, looking over at her.

"I live in the suburbs, about ten minutes away if we can catch the monorail, and if it's still running, the next one should be coming along any minute now. The stop is close to my house, about a few minute's walk from the platform."

"Hmm…I don't know, Carolyn. The suburbs seems like a place where there would be a minimal amount of zombies. Most of them are concentrated more towards the city, I would think," said Debbie.

"I guess it's better than nothing. Does anyone live any closer than Haruhi?" asked Carolyn. They all shook their heads.

"I don't mind going to Haruhi's. You guys remember her house, right? We went there for her birthday party a couple years ago," said Kari.

"Yeah. It's pretty big if I remember correctly," said Jesse.

Haruhi sighed and took a seat on a bench, waiting with the others for the monorail to arrive. _'I wonder if mom and dad are still alive…'_


	4. Chapter 4 - Our Incompetence

To their delight, the rail system was still functioning, so they all boarded the car when it arrived. Once it began moving, they all sighed with relief as they headed to refuge at Haruhi's house. On the way there, everyone relaxed and rested before they had to depart from the monorail. They had to go past two other platforms before they reached the stop closest to her house.

As they approached the first one, Carolyn got up and readied her assault rifle. "We're approaching the first platform. Firing line! Get ready to repel zombie boarders." Raphael picked up his sub-machinegun and stood up along with the others. They each took position in front of a door as the monorail slowed down and came to a halt at the platform.

"There's zombies on the platform, ma'am," said Jesse.

"I see them. Prepare to fire," said Carolyn. As the doors opened, the platform erupted in gunfire as Raphael and the others unloaded on the zombies present there.

"All clear," said Debbie.

"Keep alert. Don't let your guard down until the doors are closed and we're moving again," said Carolyn. After waiting a few more seconds, the monorail's doors shut and continued on its way down the tracks. They executed the same formation when they arrived at the second platform, but there weren't any zombies there, which was a good sign.

"So where exactly is your house? I want to know how far we have to walk, or run depending on how many zombies are present," said Carolyn.

"Um, it's not far. Just down a few streets on the left. It shouldn't be too bad," said Haruhi.

"What's the surrounding area like and how big is your house?"

"Well, the house is on a hill, and it's a two-story house complete with a basement and attic."

As they were talking, the monorail arrived at their stop. They all got up and made their way onto the platform, which was empty. They looked over the railing and examined the area in front of them.

"Looks like there aren't any zombies around," said Yumi.

"Maybe it has something to do with all these evacuation signs," said Jesse, looking at all the posters on the walls and columns.

"Let's use this temporary lack of zombies to our advantage. It's about to get dark soon, so let's get a move on," said Carolyn, making her way to the stairs. The others followed behind as they made their way to the sidewalks with Haruhi leading the way with Carolyn. They carefully walked down the streets, keeping watch for any loose zombies still around.

Within a few minutes, they arrived at her house after an uneventful walk. "Here we are, my house," said Haruhi as they walked up to the front door. She took out her key and opened it, letting everyone inside. "Make yourself at home."

"Hold up, everyone. Before you all disperse, let me say a few things. First, keep your boots on, just in case we need to make a sudden run for it. You can take off your vests to get more comfortable, but try and keep as much on as you can. Second, keep the noise to a bare minimum. That means no excessive volume on the TVs, no blasting music, etc. And lastly, if you want to take a shower, do so at your own risk. If you plan to take one, make it a quick. If we have to leave, and you're still in the shower, consider yourself left behind." After she addressed them, they all dispersed into the house to do their own thing.

"Where are you going, Haruhi?" asked Kari.

"I'm going upstairs to my room. If you guys need anything, just let me know." She left the group and hurried up to her room. As she was heading to her room, she passed by her parent's room and noticed the door was closed. Hoping that they were inside, she approached the door and opened. "Mom? Dad?" She frowned as she entered an empty room. She went over to the bed and crawled on it, curling into the fetal position as she cried over her missing parents and dead sister.

After fifteen minutes of wandering around the house, they all came back together for dinner. Since it was Haruhi's house, she helped cook the meal along with Kari and Debbie. For dinner, they prepared a quick beef dish with tomato sauce and a side of buttered garlic bread.

"Eat up. You'll need the strength for tomorrow," said Debbie, placing the dishes on the dinner table.

"Thank you, lieutenant," said Carolyn, picking up her fork as she sat at the head of the table. She got her share of the food first and passed the bowl down the line, going from the highest rank all the way to the lowest.

"This is delicious, Haruhi," said Yumi.

"Thanks. It wasn't that hard to make, especially with people helping you in the kitchen," said Haruhi.

As they were eating, Carolyn was already thinking about their sleeping situation. "Haruhi, you said that this house has an attic?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"What's up there?"

"Up there? That's where our entertainment room is."

"Entertainment room? How big is it?"

"Pretty big. It's basically a single, large room. Why do you ask, ma'am?"

"Because that's where we'll all be sleeping. It's the safest place in the house, and we'll all be together in the same room during the night. That way, we won't have to worry about keeping watch during the night, and we can all get sufficient sleep. I assume there's only one way up there, right?" said Carolyn.

"Yes, ma'am, but there's plenty of bedrooms for everyone," said Haruhi.

"No, Carolyn's right. We should all be together. It's for your safety, understand?" asked Debbie.

"I guess…" said Haruhi.

After dinner, she showed them the attic where the entertainment room was. The attic was fully furnished with mahogany-colored walls and a cherry-wood floor. Along with the entertainment room, which contained a large integrated TV screen, a large sofa, and two smaller couches, there was also a small bathroom and a bar for the adults.

"This is a nice room. The entertainment system is happenin'. I bet these speakers and the surround sound system you have here can really get the party going," said Jesse.

"Yeah. When Mom and Dad were out, Susan and I liked to crank up the tunes," said Haruhi.

"If we move these couches and tables out of the way, we can layout sleeping bags or blankets to sleep on. Do you have any sleeping bags, Haruhi?" asked Carolyn.

"We have four, ma'am. We can just open them up and use them as mats to sleep on. Then I can find some blankets or comforters to use as covers."

"That'll work. Some of us can sleep on the couches and the rest on the floor." Carolyn walked around the room then glanced at her watch. "All right everybody, it's still kinda early to be turning in, so you can continue doing your own thing. At 21:00, it's lights out and everyone asleep. And remember, no loud electronics and keep the blinds closed. You're dismissed."

"Hey, Haruhi, does this TV get cable?" asked Debbie.

"Yeah. We've got the premium package," said Haruhi.

"Then put on the news. Let's see how bad this epidemic is." Haruhi picked up the controller and turned on the TV, switching the channels to local news. Unfortunately, the emergency broadcast system was on, repeating the same evacuation instructional video over and over again.

"Well, that's not good. Try switching to a larger news channel. I'm sure the premium package has a bunch of those," said Jesse. Haruhi changed the channel and found a news station that was still airing from Gale City, the city adjacent to Grandeur.

"What the h***? How in the world can they cover all this up with a story like that!? Quarantining an entire city like Grandeur, just because of a radiation spill!? No one is going to believe that," said Carolyn, crossing her arms.

"At least they evacuated most of the city," said Debbie.

"But what about _us_? The academy? The base!? Are we not worth saving, or at least, warning?" said Carolyn.

"It's all protocol, Carolyn. You know how it is. Plus, I bet those Blackwatch guys have something to do with keeping all of us in the dark," said Debbie.

Carolyn sighed with frustration. "You're probably right. We're on our own and we stay the course. For the remainder of the night, just relax and rest up. In the morning, we're heading straight to Huntington. Dismissed."

When they were let go, Kari went to take a shower while the others relaxed around the house. Raphael and the other guys were upstairs checking their weapons and gear.

"I still can't believe that this is all happening," said Steven, stripping his rifle to clean the internals.

"What's so hard to believe? Biochemical accidents happen more often than you think," said Kyle, loading his sidearm with more ammunition.

"But this is kinda more serious than a typical lab contamination or leakage. An entire city is affected by this accident, if it is one, and who knows how far it's spread," said Raphael.

"Well, this one is pretty serious. I wonder how the military is containing all this," said Steven.

"Who knows? Hey, I'm going to get a drink. You guys want anything?" asked Raphael.

"I'm good," said Steven.

"I'll take a water bottle," said Kyle.

Raphael nodded, leaving his gun and gear with Steven and Kyle as he left. As he made his way downstairs, he passed by Haruhi in the hallway. "Hey there, Haruhi. What are the towels for?"

"They're for whoever wants to take a shower. Kari's taking one in the master bathroom. You can take one after her if you want. The master bathroom is _way_ better than the regular one."

Suddenly, they heard Yumi shouting from the kitchen. "Haruhi!"

Haruhi sighed and turned towards the balcony. "What!?"

"The ice machine won't shut off!"

Haruhi groaned to herself. "Hold on. I'll be right there." Before leaving, she handed Raphael the towels. "Here. Give these to Kari."

"Um. Okay. Which one is the master bedroom?"

"Down at the end," she said, heading down the stairs. Raphael looked down the hall and made his way into the master bedroom. The door to the bathroom was closed, so he made sure to knock before opening it.

"Who is it?" asked Kari.

"It's Raphael. Haruhi asked me to drop off the towels."

Kari paused and shuffled around behind the door before she let him in. "It's open. Come in."

"All right. Coming in," said Raphael, slowly opening the door. Before he could fully open it, Kari swung it open herself. Once he saw her standing in front of him, he shielded his eyes with the stack of towels. "Gah! I'm sorry. I thought you said it was okay to come in."

She was standing there, nude and completely exposed. "I did say it was okay. Please, come in."

"But you're naked."

"So?"

"I shouldn't be doing this."

"Just hurry up and get in. Someone might see us."

Raphael hesitated, but stepped in. Kari moved closer to him and shut the door. "Good. Now just toss the towels anywhere."

"Why am I here? What do you want with me?" asked Raphael, placing the towels on the counter while keeping his gaze off of her. He glanced over at the mirror on the wall and saw Kari standing behind him. Once he saw her, he blushed and redirected his gaze again.

"I just wanted some company," she said, moving closer to him.

Raphael tensed up as he felt her bare chest push against his while her pelvis brushed his right thigh. "This is wrong. You're with Kyle, aren't you?"

Kari looked into his eyes then glanced down. "I am, but I don't _like_ him that way, you know? He's more of a very close friend to me more than a boyfriend, almost like a brotherly relationship. He just doesn't appeal to me as much as you do."

"Wait, as much as I do? I thought we were past that, Kari."

"I thought so too, but…I still find you attractive. I don't know what it is about you that gets me so aroused." She moved closer to him and gently exhaled on his neck, placing her hands on his waist.

"Kari…you don't want to do this," said Raphael, urging her to cease her actions.

"But I do. Who knows how much time we have left in this zombie apocalypse? We've already lost Amy and Susan. Any one of us can bite the dust tomorrow out there. I don't want to die a virgin, Raph. I want you to be my first."

"This is hardly the place and time for that. What if Kyle finds out?"

"Don't worry. He won't." She grabbed a hold of his t-shirt and brought him close for a kiss. Raphael totally gave himself to her, pushing out any doubts in his head as he kissed her back. He moved her over to the counter and surrendered himself to the passion of the moment.

Meanwhile, Kyle and Steven were still upstairs wondering where Raphael was. "Where's Raph? Does it really take that long to get a water bottle?" asked Kyle as he continued to clean his rifle with Steven.

"Eh, maybe he's helping out with something. He'll be back," said Steven.

"Well, I'm parched. I'll go get it myself." Kyle placed his rifle on the table and stood up to find Raphael and a water bottle. "Hey, Raph! You in here?" he asked, poking his head into one of the bedrooms. He continued down the hallway and checked all the rooms for him. He finally came to the master bedroom and decided to check in on Kari before heading downstairs. "Hey, Kari, you done y-" Before he finished his sentence, he heard rather peculiar sounds coming from behind the bathroom door. It almost sounded like voices. Curious, he placed his head against the door to see if he could make out what was going on.

"Oh, yes! Yes! Just like that!"

_'What the f***? Kari, you naughty girl.'_ Kyle pushed his head harder against the door to listen closer. Suddenly, his heart sank as he heard another voice in the room with her.

"Oh, Kari! This is amazing! It feels so good!"

_'Is that, Raph? What the f*** is he doing in there with my Kari! That b******!'_ He backed away from the door and stood in the bedroom, shocked and paralyzed with betrayal. He was speechless and didn't know what to do. Lacking the fortitude to barge in there and expose them, he just shook his head in disappointment and went downstairs to find a drink.

Once Raphael and Kari were done, they got dressed and prepared to join the others. "Is it clear?" asked Raphael.

Kari slowly opened the door and peeked into the bedroom. "Yeah. You go out first and then I'll catch up." He nodded and slipped out the bathroom, heading back upstairs. Kari finished up in the bathroom and went upstairs after him.

"There you are. What took you so long?" asked Steven as Raphael made his way over to them. Kyle had gotten a water bottle and was already back, still fiddling with his rifle.

"Huh? Oh. I was helping Instructor Ren with a few things. Kinda got side tracked,  
said Raphael. A few moments later, Kari showed up and sat on the couch next to him. They momentarily exchanged smiles as their gaze met. Kyle noticed it and dropped his rifle on the table, standing up and walking out of the room.

"What was that about?" asked Steven, watching him leave the room.

Raphael and Kari exchanged worried looks. "Do you think he knows?" asked Kari, whispering into Raphael's ear.

"I hope not. Let's just let him cool off from whatever is bothering him. If he somehow found out, he'll let us know. But let's just pretend it never happened and drop it, kay?" Kari gave a nod and backed off. For the short remainder of the night, everyone hung around the house then met in the attic for the night.

"All right, everyone. Just pick a place to sleep. Doesn't matter where. Haruhi here was kind enough to supply sleeping bags and extra blankets," said Carolyn. She and Debbie each took a couch to sleep on while Haruhi took the large sofa for herself. Everyone else had to use sleeping bags spread out along the floor. Once everyone was situated in, Carolyn turned off the lights and took her spot.

As Kyle and Kari were lying down on their open sleeping bag, he scooted up from behind and placed her arms around her. "Do you love me?" he asked.

Kari paused then looked over her shoulder. "Of course I do, honey. Now get some sleep. It's going to be a busy morning." Kyle frowned and turned around, facing away from her.

When it was morning, Raphael awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. Kari was hunched over him, nudging him awake. "C'mon, Raph, breakfast is almost ready."

"Ugh, what time is it?"

"It's eight thirty and everyone's already downstairs already." Raphael yawned and stood up, stretching his arms into the air. As she was watching him, Kari smirked and moved closer to him. "You know, we're all alone up here. How 'bout a quickie?"

Raphael shook his head and denied the offer. "You serious? You're thinking about that now? Isn't once good enough?"

"C'mon, don't you want it? Surely once wasn't enough."

"It wasn't, but once was pushing it already."

Kari frowned. "Then how 'bout a kiss?"

"Well, I guess I can manage that," he said, moving closer to her.

One kiss turned into five minutes of making out. Once they were moderately satisfied, they went downstairs to join the others. Jesse and the other prodigies were sitting at the dining table while Yumi and Haruhi finished the final touches on the dishes. Carolyn and Debbie weren't present yet and were still upstairs washing up.

As Raphael and Kari entered the room together, Kyle got fed up with the deception and confronted them about it. "So what took you guys so long?"

They stopped in their tracks then looked to each other. "What do you mean?" asked Kari.

"It doesn't take that long to wake up a guy, does it? Or did you two take a little detour."

"What are you getting at?" asked Raphael.

Kyle lost it and abruptly stood up from my chair. "I mean what are you doing with my girlfriend all of a sudden!? I've seen how you and Kari look at each other and have been spending time together."

"Kyle, there's nothing going on between us, honestly," said Kari.

"Oh don't talk about honesty! I heard you two last night in the bathroom!" said Kyle. Everyone not in the argument looked at each other with surprised looks and continued to listen intently.

Kari looked at him with a guilty look, glancing down at her feet. "In the bathroom? We were, uh, we were…"

"Were what!?"

Raphael intervened for Kari and stepped by her side. "We did it, okay. We made love. I'm sorry."

"You prick!" Before he could blink, Kyle lunged at him and tackled him to the ground, punching him madly in the face. Raphael was caught off guard and didn't brace himself for the sudden attack. While on the ground, he tried to block the punches and rolled over, positioning himself on top of Kyle. Once on his back, he kicked Raphael off of him and stood back up, panting from the fight.

As they were struggling, Kari was trying to break up the fight, her eyes watery from the conflict she caused. "Kyle! Stop! It's not his fault! Listen to me!"

Kyle was too enraged and ignored her, attacking Raphael without restraint. Jesse and the others tried to hold them back, but couldn't get a hold on them. Once he was off of him, Kyle drew out his pistol and aimed it at him. Everyone backed away from Kyle and Raphael, fearing being shot accidentally during the scuffle. Raphael didn't hesitate and grabbed at the pistol, trying to wrestle it away from him.

As they struggled for control of the gun, Kari got involved and tried to stop it herself. "Please! Stop! We shouldn't be fighting like this!" Everyone gasped as the sound of a gunshot echoed through the house. They all stood speechless as Kari backed away from the two, gripping the bullet wound in her chest. After looking Kyle in the eye, she collapsed to the ground, breathing her last breath.

Kyle slowly walked over to her, looking down at her still corpse. "Kari…?"

After breaking out of her daze, Yumi pushed him aside and flipped Kari over, checking her pulse. She stood up and shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes. "She's…gone. She's dead, guys." They all looked at Kari's body, then to Kyle.

Raphael knelt down by her corpse and started weeping. "Kari!" He bumped his forehead against hers as he completely broke down in tears.

"You b******! You shot and killed Kari!" said Jesse.

"Wait, what are you doing, Kyle?" asked Haruhi.

Kyle remained speechless and took a few steps back away from them, his pistol still gripped in his left hand. He stood at attention and saluted the group. "It's been an honor serving with you all." Before the others could talk him out of it, he raised the pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. Yumi shrieked as she watched another of her friends take their own life in front of her, a scene more traumatizing than Susan's accidental suicide. Everyone was on the verge of total break down as his body slumped to the floor. A few seconds after his body hit the floor, they heard running down the hallway on the second floor.

Carolyn and Debbie ran to the second floor balcony and looked down, shocked to see both Kyle and Kari dead on the ground. "What's going on!? What the h*** happened!?" Everyone opened their mouths at once and started talking to her at the same time.

She couldn't make out what they were saying, so she told them to be quiet. "SHUT UP! When we get down there, one of you, and only one of you will tell me what happened." She and Debbie left the balcony and hurried downstairs to assess the situation. Steven and the others looked at each other, unsure of who was going to tell her what happened.

"Who's going to tell her?" asked Jesse. They all looked at each other, reluctant to volunteer.

As Carolyn and Debbie got closer, Steven volunteered to speak for the group. "I'll do it. I'll tell her."

When they arrived, Carolyn was fuming with frustration. She got a closer look at Kari's body then walked over to Kyle's "What…happened?"

Steven nervously stepped forward and explained the situation on behalf of the group. "Well, as you probably already know, ma'am, Kyle and Kari were dating and since Amy died, Kari began getting more and more close to Raphael, almost to the point of becoming intimate. I'm not sure what the extent of their relationship was, but when Kyle found out what was happening, he started to lose it, but kept it to himself until he reached a breaking point this morning. Apparently, he caught Raphael and Kari doing something in the bathroom together and waited until morning to confront him about it. Things got physical and Kyle pulled a pistol on him. As they were struggling for the gun, Kyle accidentally pulled the trigger and shot Kari as she tried to stop them. After Yumi pronounced her dead, Kyle took his life with his sidearm."

Carolyn stood flabbergasted, going over everything he had told her in her head. She glared at Raphael and stomped over to him, lifting him up and smacking him harshly across the face. "Are you happy now!? I know your girlfriend is dead, but you don't need to go stealing another one, and from your own friend?"

"It's wasn't like that, ma'am! It wasn't his fault! Kari said so herself," said Yumi in Raphael's defense.

"Shut up, Baiorin! Prodigy Comet, because you lacked restraint, two of your fellow classmates, your friends, are now dead. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Raphael remained silent, looking gloomily at the ground. Carolyn grabbed him by the shirt and shook him. "Well!?" He continued to not make eye contact and remained silent.

"That's enough, Carolyn!" Debbie made her way over to them and separated Carolyn's grip on him. "Yumi's probably right. The fault is not entirely his, so you shouldn't blame him for what happened."

"But if he knew of Kyle's feelings for Kari, he should've stopped her before things got out of hand," said Carolyn, still glaring at him.

"Perhaps, but Raphael's been through a lot. We all have. They were just trying to relieve the pain. They're still kids, Carolyn," said Debbie. Carolyn looked at her, then glanced back to Raphael, giving him one last look of discontent before storming off further into the house.

"Don't worry, Raph. I'll talk to her," said Debbie before heading after her. Once she was gone, Raphael took a seat on the couch, sobbing with his face in his hands.

Steven sighed and decided to take command while the instructors were away. "Yumi and Haruhi, strip Kyle and Kari of anything useful then find some sheets to cover their bodies. Jesse, could you head upstairs and use your rifle to make sure the zombies didn't hear the gunshots? I'll try and see if I can bring Raph around." Yumi and Haruhi nodded and went to scavenge what they could off their dead bodies. Jesse grabbed her sniper rifle and made her way upstairs to scout the surrounding area while Steven sat down next to his buddy, Raphael.

"Dude, are you all right?" asked Steven.

"What do you think?" said Raphael, looking up from his hands at him.

"If there's anything you want to talk about, just let me know. Will you be okay?"

Raphael sighed, nodding his head. "I don't know, Steven. Two more of our friends are dead, and this time not by zombies, but from our incompetence."

Steven patted him on the back and stood up. "Don't worry man, it wasn't your fault."

Raphael abruptly stood up and confronted him. "Don't say that! Don't put all the blame on Kari and Kyle! I'm just as guilty as they are for what happened." Yumi and Haruhi stopped what they were doing to look up and see what was going on.

"Okay, man. Just chill." Raphael exhaled and took a few steps around the living room. "C'mon, let's get some breakfast. You'll feel better," said Steven, standing up to bring him into the kitchen.

"I'll help you guys once Yumi and I are done here," said Haruhi as she went to find sheets with Yumi.

After their bodies were taken care of, and after Carolyn cooled off, everyone met up for breakfast in the kitchen. The meal was rather quiet as they were too focused on eating, wanting to forget what had just happened. Raphael didn't have an appetite and pushed his food around with his fork.

"You should eat, Raph. You need your strength. Plus, I didn't slave over a hot stove for nothing," said Yumi with a smile.

"Okay." He gave her a weak smile and slowly started eating.

"That was a delicious meal. Thank you, Yumi, Haruhi," said Carolyn as she finished eating. Everyone else had just about finished as well. After she wiped her mouth with a napkin, Carolyn reached for her vest and rifle. "All right, everyone, gear up and grab whatever supplies you can. We're moving out ASAP."


	5. Chapter 5 - Safe at Last

The prodigies nodded and started putting on their vests and other pieces of gear. Haruhi and Yumi found some backpacks and filled them with water, food, and medical supplies. The others checked their weapons and waited with Carolyn and Debbie by the front door.

Jesse was by the front window, checking the surrounding area for zombies. "Looks clear, ma'am. Now would be a good time to head on out." By then, everyone was together by the front door.

"Roger that. Okay, stay behind me and keep up. We're moving towards the PT station. Hopefully we can catch a ride into Huntington." She turned towards the door and opened it up, keeping her rifle raised as she exited the house. The prodigies followed closely with Debbie picking up the rear. The walk back to the platform was easy enough, since there were no zombies around. Once they got to the top, they waited anxiously for a transport heading back into the city.

"It's been too long. Maybe the monorail has finally gone offline," said Debbie, looking into the distance.

"The electricity is still on. The lights and track are still active," said Jesse.

"Wait, I think I see it. Yeah, it's coming," said Steven.

The group raised their weapons and pointed them towards the monorail car. As it came to a halt, they trained their guns on the doors as they opened. Seeing that it was all clear, they piled in and waited for the monorail to proceed. On the way into the city, the prodigies looked outside of the monorail's windows to see the city in ruins. The streets were littered with abandoned vehicles and bodies scattered amongst debris. There were roadside fires and clouds of smoke rising from wrecked cars. As they were viewing the scene through the safety of the monorail, a large explosion in the distance rocked the car slightly.

"What the heck was that?" asked Jesse.

As soon as she said that, the automated monorail speakers came to life. "Emergency. There has been a power outage in your sector. Back-up power initiated. Please depart from the monorail at the next stop. Thank you for choosing Public Transportation."

"Shoot. How far are we from the base?" asked Carolyn.

Debbie looked at the monorail's route and found where they were. "Not that far, ma'am. Just a few more stops and we should be at the west entrance."

"Looks like we're hot-footing it there. Prodigies, prepare to disembark."

Once the monorail came to a halt, they quickly departed and secured the platform they were on. Most of the zombies they saw were concentrated near the center of the city. They were currently near the city's edge, so there weren't as many zombies around. Weapons raised, they headed down the stairs street side and continued to the base on foot. Conversation was kept to a minimum as to not attract any unnecessary attention from nearby zombies. They also refrained from shooting if they could avoid it. Ammunition was at a premium since they left the academy's armory, so they had to use it sparingly. They passed the first couple monorail platforms without so much as a single shot fired.

"Don't worry, everyone. I can see the base. We're almost there," said Carolyn. They hurried along until they saw a military APC crashed into the side of a building. Wondering if there were any wounded, they made their way over to see if there was anyone they could help.

"What do you think happened?" asked Debbie, examining the wreckage as they walked closer to the vehicle.

"Who knows? I doubt zombies could hardly do any damage to an APC. We'll see when we get there," said Carolyn.

As they approached the vehicle, they all went speechless as they recognized the inhabitants of the vehicle. It was Jonathan's APC and there were bodies scattered all around the wreckage. Raphael and the others immediately hurried and went to see if anyone was still alive. Around the back hatch to the vehicle, there were bodies of some of the prodigies from Jonathan's group. Carolyn went into the cargo hold and found Darr dead along with a couple more prodigies.

Cursing under her breath, she went back outside to see what caused the crash. "Status?" she asked, lighting a cigarette.

"All the prodigies from before are dead. Darr is also KIA. I didn't see Han, Jonathan, or Capps, so either they're still alive and on the run or dead elsewhere," said Debbie.

"What about the vehicle? Any damage?" asked Carolyn.

"Now that's the weird part. They're large gashes and scratch marks all over the APC. And the bodies are all mangled up too, so much so to be the work of zombies. And that's the thing, I don't see any dead zombies around. Surely they would've killed at least one or two by running them over when they crashed, or when they tried to escape out the back," said Debbie.

"This isn't adding up. If the survivors did make it out, they would've headed towards the base, right? But I found a set of tracks leading into the city, away from the base," said Steven. Everyone looked at him and went to see what he was looking at.

"These are their tracks?" asked Carolyn.

"I think so. I see three sets of tracks heading into the city, but there's another set and I'm not sure what to make of."

Carolyn bent down to examine the muddy footprint left on the road. "Maybe it's nothing. Just a smudge."

"Not likely, ma'am. It has a set reminiscent to an animal or something, though I've never seen this before while hunting."

"So are you saying they were being chased by something?"

"Could be, ma'am. That's why they didn't bother trying to head towards the base. They just went in one direction and ran for it."

"Well, I hope they made it. I would not want to face whatever was chasing them," said Carolyn.

"Um, ma'am, I think you spoke too soon…" Jesse looked up at the building in front of them and saw something crawling down the side of it. It was shaped like a frog, except it was brownish-crimson in color and had large claws. Everyone looked up in horror as they saw what she was looking at.

"What the f*** is that?" asked Steven.

"Should we fire at while it still doesn't notice us?" asked Yumi, raising her sidearm.

"No! Hold your fire. We don't know what this thing is capable of," said Carolyn. The creature continued down the side of the building then stopped, moving its head back and forth as if it was sensing something.

"Does it see us?" asked Haruhi.

"I don't know, but it's one ugly m*****f*****," said Debbie.

"Do you think it's from the R&D building? Like some sort of experiment?" asked Raphael.

Suddenly, the creature started howling, as if it was calling someone, or something. Before they knew it, more of the creatures started appearing from on top of the buildings. They jumped rooftop to rooftop, surrounding Raphael and the others.

"Yeah, I think they see us. Everyone, back to back, and no sudden movements. Prepare to fire and only shoot at what you can hit," said Carolyn.

They hurried and huddled together, keeping a keen eye on their targets. There were three creatures that they could see slowly making their way down the sides of the buildings. Everyone readied themselves and waited for the creatures to get within range of their weapons. Without warning, the creatures suddenly leaped from the buildings and headed straight for the group. The prodigies panicked, but got a hold of themselves, opening fire as the creatures got dangerously close. Their armored hides provided sufficient protection and they landed right in the middle of the group, splitting it in two. Raphael and Haruhi were stranded away from everyone else. One of the creatures turned towards the two and dashed for them.

"Run! Haruhi, run!" said Raphael as he turned tail to get away. Their weapons weren't doing any damage to the creatures, so they found it best to flee.

"One of them is going after them! We need to help!" said Yumi.

"In case you haven't noticed, we have problems of our own right in front of us," said Carolyn, emptying her clip into the remaining two creatures. Once they were out of ammunition, the creatures started chasing after them. "Run! Head for the base! We'll look for Comet and Okane once we get reinforcements!" she said, covering the others as they sprinted away.

As they ran in the opposite direction, Raphael and Haruhi hurried into the city to find a place to hide from their pursuer.

"Raph, what are we going to do!?" asked Haruhi.

"Here! Follow me!" He veered off the road and hurried to an adjacent building. He and Haruhi rushed through the front gate and through the lobby, heading straight for the elevators. "C'mon. C'mon!" he said, furiously pushing the "up" button.

"It's getting closer!" said Haruhi as she tried to keep it away with her sidearm. The elevator opened and they swarmed in, spamming the "close door" button. The creature was about to lunge in when the door sealed shut. Once it was closed, the elevator started ascending to the top floor, the one Raphael hastily pushed. "Do you think we're safe?" asked Haruhi, panting from all the excitement and fear.

"I guess so. I doubt that thing will be able to track us if we get off on a random floor." Raphael pushed one of the top floors before the penthouse. Once the elevator reached the floor, they got off and walked down the hall. They were in a high-rise apartment building, one of the more expensive apartment buildings of the downtown area.

"So now what?" asked Haruhi.

"Let's just wait a bit and think this out." Raphael picked a random room and started kicking at the door. After the third kick, the door finally opened. The two of them went into the apartment and closed the door.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" asked Haruhi. There was no response.

"If there's no one here, let's check it for zombies before we let our guard down," said Raphael. She nodded and followed his lead as they cleared the apartment. It seemed to belong to a single guy based on the décor and the items strewed about. Once it was clear, they sighed with relief and holstered their weapons. Raphael made sure the door was locked and went into the kitchen for a drink.

"It's getting dark soon. We should stay here for the night. There's no way I'm going out there in the dark with those things running about," said Haruhi, looking out the window. She was about to close the curtains when she heard gunfire in the distance. She reopened the curtains and looked around to see if she could see who was shooting.

"Do you see anyone?" asked Raphael, making his way over to her.

"Naw. But it sounded like a heavy caliber machine gun. It couldn't be Jesse and the others, could it?"

"Maybe they found help from the base. I hope everyone's okay." They closed the blinds and went into the kitchen for an early dinner. All the running and fearing for their lives had worked up an appetite between the two.

Haruhi went over to the fridge to inspect the food available. "Man, for a single guy, there's lots of fresh produce and meat here. Does he actually cook his own meals?"

"You'd be surprised what us guys can do. We're not _that_ helpless," said Raphael with a chuckle.

"So what do you feel like eating? There's plenty of ingredients here to cook up almost anything."

Raphael sat for a moment, thinking about what he was really hungry for. He hadn't had any pasta dishes in awhile, so he thought he try asking for that. "Do you know any pasta recipes?"

"Pasta? You kidding? That stuff's easy. What did you have in mind?"

"Uh, I don't know. Surprise me."

"Fine." She thought up a recipe in her head then started gathering ingredients from the fridge and pantry.

"Do you need any help?" asked Raphael as he watched her start.

"I don't know. Can you do anything?"

"Not much. But just tell me what to do and I'll try my best."

"All right, c'mere."

Raphael went over to her and helped out the best he could. He picked up cooking pretty easily and learned a lot about it from Haruhi's instruction. When the meal was ready, they got their shares and sat at the dining table, facing each other.

"Hey, thanks for the meal," said Raphael.

"Uh huh. No problem," said Haruhi without looking up from her dish.

"Where did you learn to cook like that anyway?"

"Eh, from my parents, I mean, Susan's parents. Susan and I used to tag-team making a dinner…when she was alive."

"What's that matter, Haruhi. It seems like you've been trying to avoid me all this time?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just trying to stay alive. That's all."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Raphael with a frown.

She remained silent and motionless in her chair. She then placed her fork on the table, stood up, and walked over to him, smacking him across the cheek. "You're a curse! They're all dead because of you! Susan, my sister and love, is dead!"

"What!? A curse!? What do I have to with all this!?" He dropped his utensils on the plate and stood up, standing face-to-face with her.

"Don't you get it? They all died because they had some sort of relationship with you in the past. Amy was your girlfriend. Kari had a crush on you and Susan dated you! The only reason why Yumi, Jesse, and I are alive is because we had none of those feelings for you!"

Raphael just stood there, dumbstruck by what she was saying. "Do you realize how stupid you sound right now? That's all nonsense what you're saying. A curse? I hadn't figured you to be the superstitious type."

Haruhi sneered at him and attempted to smack him again, but he grabbed a hold of her arm before she could follow through. "Ugh! You brute!"

Raphael was about to grip her arm tighter, but loosened up and let go of her. "I'm sorry." She was going to smack him again for stopping her before, but then she noticed the tears running down his cheeks. "You think you're the only who's lost someone dear to them. They were all my friends too, Haruhi. And Amy…Amy was my soulmate. I loved her the same way you loved Susan. I understand what you're going through."

She was shedding tears as well, letting out the pain she had been holding in for the loss of her sister. She completely broke down and rested her head against his chest.

He brought her close and tried to console her, placing his arms around her. "It's okay, Haruhi. Just let it out."

They both continued to cry for their loved ones as they remained in each other's arms. After awhile, they regained their composure and let go of each other. For the rest of the evening, they explored the apartment and watched a movie on the expansive entertainment system, complete with surround sound. When it came time for bed, they headed for the bedroom.

"Uh uh. Where do you think you're going?" asked Haruhi, opening the door to the bedroom.

"To bed."

"Well, not in here. I want to sleep on the bed. Last night wasn't exactly a good night's sleep, laying on that sofa in the attic."

"And sleeping on the floor is supposed to be better?"

"I've got the bed. No discussion." Raphael looked down and turned around. Before he left, she grasped his shoulder. "Hey, sorry about slapping you earlier. You were right. I wasn't talking any sense back then. I had no right blaming everything on you."

"It's all right, Haruhi. By the way, I did have sort of a thing with Jesse," said Raphael with a grin.

"What? You did? No way."

"It's true. I could tell you all about it, but it's a long story."

"C'mon, tell me about it."

"Well, you know. It's late and it would be kinda hard to tell you the story all the way from the living room."

She glared at him then opened the door fully. "Fine. You can come in. But you're not sleeping with me. Just tell me the story and get out." Raphael nodded and followed her into the room. They both sat on the bed as she listened to his story about him and Jesse. Haruhi was enjoying the little anecdote he had of his time after he broke up with Amy.

"And that's that. Crazy, huh?" said Raphael once he was done.

"That was rather entertaining, but I guess that's typical of Jesse," said Haruhi.

"Yeah. It was fun while it lasted."

He was about to get up, but she grabbed a hold of his sleeve. "You can sleep with me…if you want," she said.

"Wait, but I thought you weren't into guys."

She wasn't sure what he meant by that and took a moment to think about what he said. She then knew what he was talking about and let go of his sleeve. "Ugh, not like that! I meant we could share the bed. It's bigger than I thought, so if we put a pillow between us, there should still be enough room to feel comfortable. What's the matter with you?"

"Uh, sorry. It just sounded like…never mind. Thanks. I wouldn't mind sharing the bed with you."

"Just shut up and turn off the lights," said Haruhi as she got situated on her side of the bed. Raphael smiled and closed the door to the bedroom, locking it just in case. He took off his tac-vest and placed it next to hers on the ground before turning off the lights. There was just enough light for him to make it over to the bed and take his place on the other side.

"Before we turn in, what were you and Kari doing in the bathroom, anyway?"

Raphael paused, remembering Kari's lifeless body from earlier. "Do we have to talk about that?"

"I was just wondering. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

He thought it over in his head and decided to tell her anyway, just so he could get it off his chest. "It all happened so quickly. I went to drop off the towels like you told me to, and when I opened the door after given permission, I saw her naked. She invited me in and said she wanted to talk to me. I tried to decline, but she was too persuasive."

"Persuasive. Let me guess. She just stood there naked and you just gave in, right? It doesn't sound like something Kari would do."

"I agree, but she wasn't acting normal. She was worried that she might die a virgin during the zombie outbreak. So, she wanted to get with me to, you know, lose her virginity."

"And you obliged her?"

"Well, yeah…I did."

She was speechless at his confession, though slightly intrigued. "You two did it in my bathroom, right under our noses?"

"Yeah…sorry about that."

"No, that's kinda hot. How was it?"

"It was amazing, like nothing I've ever experienced before."

"Yeah, I bet. Was that really your first time?"

"Amazingly, it was. And don't sound so surprised. Contrary to what you believe, I never did it with Amy."

Haruhi rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling. "Eh, I believe you." They laid together in silence for a few minutes, soaking in their conversation.

"Hey, Haruhi?"

"What…is it?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, I guess. Just don't think there's anything between us."

"Don't worry. I don't."

"You know, I like to best sleep when there's no sound. That means no talking."

"All right. Got it. Zipping my lips."

The next morning, Raphael awoke to his natural body clock. He slowly opened his eyes to see Haruhi right in front of him. The pillow that was supposed to be between them was nowhere in sight and her face was five inches away from his. Raphael blinked a few times to focus his eyes then realized she was that close. She was fast asleep and snoring, drool dripping from the side of her mouth. He yawned and laid on his back, stretching his arms above him. His loud yawn made her stir and slowly woke her up.

She awoke with eyes wide open and sat up. "Why are you so close? What happened to the pillow that was between us? Did you purposely move it?"

"Hey, it wasn't me. It was like that when I woke up. Plus, did you know you snore?"

"Me? Snore? Please."

"And you're drooling."

Haruhi blushed and wiped her mouth. "Geez. You don't have to stare."

"Sorry. It's just funny to see you like this. You're usually so fashionable when I see you."

"Well, during a zombie apocalypse. Cleanliness and personal appearance isn't a top priority for me. Uh, man, what time is it?"

Raphael looked at his watch. "Wow. It's almost ten. That's the latest I've woken up in a long time."

"Ten? Dang. It's almost lunch. I'll whip us up something quick before we head on out." Once they were out of bed, Haruhi prepared a quick lunch for the both of them. After they had their fill, they got their tac-vests back on and readied themselves to leave the apartment.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Raphael.

Haruhi exhaled and readied her pistol. "Ready."

He looked through the door's peekhole and slowly opened the door, making sure there weren't any enemies lurking in the hallway. Once he gave the all clear, he moved into the hallway along with Haruhi. They made their way down to the ground floor via the elevator and traversed through the lobby. All the way there, they were sweating with fright and kept anxiously searching around for any signs of the creature that attacked them earlier. Once they made it to the front entrance, they stopped to make sure it was safe.

"Looks clear, right?" asked Raphael as he scanned the outside.

"The street looks clear, but those creatures aren't just limited to running on the ground. For all we know, they could be right above us."

He sighed and turned towards her. "Well, let's just hope that's not the case then, kay?" As they were looking through the front door, they saw an army humvee approaching them. They looked at each other with relieved grins and burst out the front door, waving their arms to get their attention. The humvee came to a halt as they saw Raphael and Haruhi approach them.

The gunner on top of the vehicle directed the turret towards them and prepared to fire. "Halt! Put down your weapons and identify yourselves!"

Raphael and Haruhi stopped and calmly dropped their weapons. "I'm Prodigy Raphael Comet from Centre Ridge Academy and this is Prodigy Haruhi Okane, also from Centre Ridge Academy. We were traveling with a larger group when we got separated by these, creatures. You gotta help us," said Raphael.

"Traveling with a larger group? You mean Capt. Ren's group?" asked the humvee gunner.

"Yes! That's the group. Are they okay!?" asked Haruhi.

"Yeah, they're fine. We picked them up yesterday afternoon. They're back at base. C'mon, we'll take you to them. She mentioned to keep an eye out for you two while we patrolled the city streets."

"Oh, thank you. Thank you so much," said Raphael. He and Haruhi picked up their guns and hurried over to the humvee, entering the vehicle through the trunk.

"How did you two survive the night with those things roaming about?" asked one of the soldiers in the humvee.

"We ran into the apartment building and rode the elevator up to one of the top floors. Then we barricaded ourselves in one of the apartments," said Raphael.

"And where did you get those uniforms and gear? That's not standard issue for prodigies, right?" asked another soldier.

"It's a long story," said Haruhi.


	6. Chapter 6 - Out with a Bang

The humvee continued down the road and made a turn, heading straight for the base. Once they were passed the security checkpoint, they dropped Raphael and Haruhi off at the barracks where the other prodigies were.

"Hey, thanks again for the ride!" said Raphael as they humvee drove off. Once they were gone, he and Haruhi made their way into the barracks. Steven and the others were huddled around a couple bunks talking with Debbie.

Jesse looked up from the group and noticed the two enter the building. "Hey! They made it! It's Raph and Haruhi!" The group turned their heads and saw them walking towards them. They all smiled with relief and hurried to greet them.

"Raph! Haruhi! It's so good to see you both," said Yumi, giving each of them a hug.

"It's good to be back, guys," said Haruhi.

"How the heck did you guys make it out of there alive?" asked Jesse. Raphael and Haruhi took a seat on the bunk and explained it all to the group, leaving out certain personal parts that were better kept between the two of them.

"It sounds like you had it easier than we did, staying in that luxurious sounding apartment. We had to fight off against two of those things until the humvee came along and mowed them down with their fifty. Then we had to help around the base then sleep on these cursed bunks," said Jesse.

"It's not that bad. What do you expect you'd be doing once you go active duty, Prodigy Taylor?" asked Debbie.

"Yeah, well, whatever…ma'am."

"By the way, where's Instructor Ren, ma'am?" asked Haruhi.

"She's in a staff meeting with General Diez," said Debbie.

"Diez is alive?" asked Raphael.

"Yeah. He's leading all the military forces around here, well, except for those Blackwatch guys. They seem to be operating independently from the regular forces."

"I should go talk to him. Do you know where he is?"

"Sure. I can take you there if you want." Raphael nodded and followed Debbie out of the barracks. Haruhi stayed with the other prodigies and talked more about the apartment she and Raphael stayed at.

Meanwhile, Carolyn was in the command tent along with some of Rodrigo's top officers. The meeting had already started and she was just listening in as the general and his subordinates discussed their situation.

"General, the city is lost. It's just a matter of time before this area is overrun as well," said Colonel Vears, commander of the army companies stationed there.

"We need to evacuate while we still can. You need to recall all our forces and head into orbit where we can rendezvous with the rest of the Fleet," said another officer named Thatcher, Commander of the C.S. Cutlass.

Rodrigo took a moment to think over his options. "Even if we did try leaving, I doubt those Blackwatch people won't let us go so easily."

"General?" asked Colonel Vears.

"This Blackwatch unit is armed to the teeth with the latest military gear and technology, and I'm sure that a unit from R&D wouldn't come so well equipped if they didn't plan on using it," said Rodrigo.

"But they're here to combat the infestation, right, General?" asked Commander Thatcher.

"And how much _combating_ have you seen them do lately? It's _our_ men and women on the front lines, not theirs. All they've been doing is monitoring and directing our forces from afar. What I think…is that they're here to make sure no one leaves this city, military or civilian." The other officers in the room had a look of skepticism on their faces, but the General had a point.

"So what are your orders, General?" asked Colonel Vears.

"Withdraw our forces from the city. The C.S. Cutlass is the closest ship and is ready to take-off at a moment's notice. Inform all the platoon and unit leaders to head to the Cutlass, ASAP."

"What about Blackwatch, General?" asked Commander Thatcher.

"We'll ignore them for now, but if they give us a hard time, I'll deal with them. Now get a move on. You have your orders."

All the officers acknowledged him, but before they could leave, a dreadful atmosphere came over them as a certain person entered the tent. "What orders would that be, _General_."

"You better watch your tone, _Blackwatch_. You're talking to a general, so maintain discipline," said Colonel Vears.

"For the umpteenth time, my name…is Agent Sands." He was a husky dressed in a black Research and Development uniform, covered by a dark Blackwatch trench coat. He casually walked up to the officers and took off his gloves, placing them on the table.

Carolyn looked at him with an irritated look and confronted him. "_Agent Sands_? _The_ Agent Sands?"

The husky looked over at her and scowled conceitedly. "Have we met before?"

"Not in person, but we've talked over the phone. I'm Capt. Carolyn Ren, the person you cut off after you found out Colonel Noland was dead, you prick."

"Oh, the instructor from the academy. Yes, I remember you," said Agent Sands.

Carolyn was about to punch the Blackwatch agent, but Rodrigo stopped her. "That's enough, Captain. Agent Sands, what do you want?"

"Why the hostility? We're all on the same side, right?"

"If we're on the same side, then why is it that we're the ones dying out there, and you and your men aren't?" said Commander Thatcher.

"Who's to say we don't have any casualties? Anyway, General, about these…_orders_. What are they? So that I can divert my men appropriately as needed," said Agent Sands.

"They're none of your concern, Agent," said Rodrigo.

"You're mistaken. _Everything_ is my concern. You forget, General. Blackwatch is in control of this operation, not _you_…nor the army…nor fleet. Just us, which makes me the highest authority here, General."

"Fine. If you have to know, I was discussing reinforcing the base's checkpoints with the remaining units in the city. You do know that the city is lost and that we're eventually going to be overrun, right?"

Agent Sands looked him straight in the eye and chuckled defiantly at his condescending tone. "Yes, General, I am well aware of the situation. But we all know that wasn't exactly what you were talking about."

"More or less," said Rodrigo.

"Don't take me for a fool, Diez. They wouldn't have put me in charge of this operation if I was a complete pushover. I _know_ that you are planning to escape via the C.S. Cutlass. Don't bother. No one is leaving this planet, and I mean _no one_."

Rodrigo smirked and walked up to the Blackwatch Agent. "_No one_, huh? What you really mean is that no one who isn't Blackwatch is leaving the planet. You're going to pack up and leave us here to die before this base is overrun, am I right, _Agent Sands_? A sort of containment protocol you guys have in mind."

Agent Sands nodded, impressed at his deduction. "In a nutshell, yes."

Before he could continue, Carolyn kneed the agent in the stomach then followed up with a punch straight to the jaw, knocking him out. "B******. And to think you guys are trying to help." She moved the hair out her eyes and turned to Rodrigo. "It's now or never, General."

He walked over to Agent Sands then looked to his officers. "You all know what to do. Good luck, gentlemen." His subordinates saluted then left the tent, hurrying to withdraw their forces from the zombie-infested city. Before Carolyn left the tent, he pulled her aside momentarily to address her personally. "Carolyn, I'm putting you in charge of those prodigies you saved from the academy. You're responsible for getting them to the ship alive, each and every one of them. And Carolyn, find Raphael and keep him safe. I've already let one of my best friends down with the death of Amy, please don't let me disappoint the other."

Carolyn nodded and saluted, fully understanding her duty. "I understand, General." Once she left the tent, she broke into a run to find Raphael and the others. _'This plan is severely flawed. Those Blackwatch b******* are going to catch on sooner or later when the lines start thinning. Things might start getting combative if that happens. I just need to get the prodigies to the ship before the fighting starts.'_ She hurried through the various tents and found Debbie walking along with Raphael. "Comet! You're alive!?"

"Yes, ma'am. Haruhi's here too. Where's General Diez?" asked Raphael.

"No time. We have to get the others."

"What's the rush, ma'am? Did something happen?" asked Debbie.

"I'll tell you on the way. Now let's go." She took a few steps then heard gunshots in the direction of the command tent in the distance. "No…that's not good."

Rodrigo fell to the ground with five bullet holes in his back, gasping for air. Agent Sands got up from the ground and walked over to him, planting a final shot in his head. "How dare you defy me like that." After he holstered his sidearm, he took hold of the intercom and addressed the entire base. "This is Agent Sands. Attention. It appears that ideas of defection and dereliction from duty are starting to arise within our ranks. The regular military here thinks they have the authority to tell me and Blackwatch what to do. They plan on abandoning their posts to jump ship before our mission here is complete. I am giving Blackwatch full authorization to use whatever means necessary to make sure no one leaves, and I mean no one. Our faithful leader, Brigadier General Rodirigo Diez, has already been executed for desertion. May that be a warning to the rest of you."

"I guess that answers why you're so panicked. So what's the plan?" asked Debbie.

"Colonel Vears is recalling all the ground forces from the city. Commander Thatcher is prepping the C.S. Cutlass for take-off as we speak. All of our forces are being ordered to fall back to the Cutlass and we'll make a break for space," said Carolyn.

"What about Blackwatch?"

"General Diez said he'd handle it, but I guess that didn't go as well as he'd planned. We're on our own. My priority is to get us and the prodigies on that ship, alive." She moved ahead of the two and led them back to the barracks to regroup with the others. When they arrived, they only saw Haruhi sitting on a bunk. "Prodigy Okane, where is everyone!?"

"They're in the mess hall eating, ma'am. Is something wrong? You sound…edgy," said Haruhi. As they were talking, small firefights began erupting all over the base.

"Is that…?" asked Debbie.

"Yeah. Blackwatch and the regular forces have already begun engaging each other. We need to rendezvous with the others. We're getting out of here. Prodigies, get your weapons. You may need to use them once more," said Carolyn.

Raphael and Haruhi nodded and retrieved their guns from their bunks. Carolyn and the other three hurried out of the barracks and went next door to the mess hall. Jesse and the other prodigies were sitting at a table, wondering what was going on. Before they could regroup with them, two Blackwatch soldiers burst through the doors and started firing indiscriminately into the room with their rifles. Carolyn acted instinctively and attacked them while Debbie forced Raphael and Haruhi to the ground, using her body as a shield. Carolyn grabbed a hold of the first soldier and flipped him on his back while drawing her sidearm all in one motion. She shot the downed soldier once in the chest and once in the head. The second soldier was about to re-aim his rifle on her and fire, but she shot first, splattering his brains all over the floor. Once they were taken care of, she scanned the surrounding area before holstering her weapon.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Carolyn.

"Yeah. We're fine," said Debbie.

"Taylor, status!"

"Green, ma'am! We're all fine," said Jesse.

Carolyn hurried over to the group and told them the situation before they headed to the C.S. Cutlass. Once everyone was up to speed on what was happening, they grabbed whatever weapons they could and followed Carolyn out of the mess hall. Some of the soldiers from the mess hall thanked Carolyn for saving them and volunteered to escort her and the prodigies to the ship. Along the way, they avoided firefights as much as they could, leaving the regular units stationed there to battle with Blackwatch. The regular forces outnumbered the Blackwatch unit, but they were still evenly matched. Blackwatch's superior firepower and technology made up for their lack of numbers. Carolyn and the others were able to make it into the space port and hurried to the gate the C.S. Cutlass was docked at.

"It should be just up here, ma'am. Just past this bulkhead," said one of the soldiers in their group. Once they turned a corner and were halfway down the hallway, two Blackwatch E.B.A.'s appeared on the other end.

"What are those?" asked Yumi, stopping in the middle of the hallway with a couple of soldiers.

"Get down!" said Carolyn, diving behind a wall. The E.B.A.s opened fire with their arm-mounted chain guns and caught Yumi and the two soldiers out in the open. Their high caliber rounds ripped her and the soldiers to shreds in a matter of seconds. The others scattered to the sides of the hallway and sought cover wherever they could.

"Yumi!" said Jesse, making sure her body was completely behind cover.

"She's dead! Just stay where you are!" said Carolyn.

The E.B.A.s stopped firing and slowly started advancing down the hallway. The remaining escorts peeked out from cover and opened fire on them. Their rifle rounds bounced off the suits' reinforced armor and didn't even make them flinch. The E.B.A.s raised their guns and fired again. The soldiers hid back behind cover, trying not to get hit by the high rate of fire as it ricocheted off the wall near them.

"What are we going to do, ma'am! We can't do anything to them with what we have!" said one of the soldiers.

"Just sit tight, soldier. We'll think of something," said Carolyn.

"Well, you better hurry, ma'am. They're getting closer!" said Steven.

Carolyn cursed under her breath and thought of something. "Soldier, give me all the grenades you got."

"I don't think it'll do anything, ma'am."

"Just do it!"

The soldier complied and rolled two of his grenades over to her. She picked them up and pulled the pins, waiting a few seconds before she threw them down the hall. The grenades detonated before the E.B.A.s could dodge them, rupturing one of the suit's feeding lines that supplied the chain gun with ammunition. The other E.B.A's chain gun barrels were bent and damaged, rending them inoperable. They looked at each other and just stood in the hallway, waiting for Carolyn and the others to make a move.

"Nice one, ma'am! You destroyed their guns," said Debbie.

"But why aren't they moving?" asked Jesse.

"Their job is to prevent anyone from leaving, not to search and destroy. As long as they stay there, they've blocked the only way out of this installation," said Carolyn.

"So what are we going to do? We can't damage them while they're in those suits," said Steven.

"There may be one thing we can do," said Raphael, catching everyone's attention.

"What is it, Comet?" asked Carolyn.

"I've worked with E.B.A.s before, ma'am. I have one. And while working with them I've noticed some weak spots and vulnerabilities that the suits have that not everyone may be aware of."

"Well, do tell. How do we take these guys down?"

"Those E.B.A.s look like newer models, but they should still operate like the older ones. If you can somehow get behind them, there should be a power regulator on the tops of their backpacks. If you could damage it, their suits' hydraulics should shut off, immobilizing them for good."

"That's assuming that regulator thing is where you say it is."

"It's better than nothing."

"Damn. I'm the one who's going to be running this little stunt, so I want a little more something concrete than a guess."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. That's all I got."

Carolyn thought the plan over her in her head and peeked down the hallway. The E.B.A.s were still standing down the hall, waiting for them to make a move. "Does anyone have any grenades left?" she asked.

"Just a couple flash-bangs," said one of the soldiers.

"When I give the signal, toss 'em down there." The soldier nodded and prepped the grenades to throw. Carolyn readied her sidearm and psyched herself up for the run.

When she was ready, she nodded to the soldier. "Good luck, captain," he said, throwing the grenades. Once they went off, Carolyn sprinted down the hallway towards the enemy. Their screens flared and their speakers crackled as they grenades went off, making them grasp their heads in confusion. She dodged their flailing movements and got behind them, unloading half her magazine on the first suit's power supply, then the other half on the other one. The suits buckled and fell to the ground as their motor functions failed due to the loss of power.

One of the suits had just enough power to turn his head towards Carolyn. "You won't get out of here alive. I guarantee it," he said through the mechanical speakers of the suit.

Carolyn just ignored him and stepped over their bodies. Once she gave the all clear, everyone moved out of cover and walked over to her. Before moving on, the prodigies looked one last time at Yumi, all of them trying not to cry for their fallen comrade and friend.

"What next?" asked Carolyn.

"This way, ma'am," said one of the soldiers with them. He walked into the rotunda and was immediately cut down by Blackwatch soldiers trying to fight their way onto the C.S. Cutlass. Carolyn and the others took cover again and returned fire.

"F***! They're trying to take over the Cutlass!" said Carolyn.

"This is nuts! This is not what I signed up for!" said Steven, firing his pistol over a barrier.

"Well what did you expect we'd be doing once we went on active duty!?" said Jesse as she reloaded her sidearm.

"This is different. We're fighting our own forces for crying out loud. They're supposed to be on our side!"

"Cut the chatter and fire your weapons!" said Debbie. Jesse and Steven exchanged annoyed looks and opened fire with their pistols. Their group was able to take down some of the enemies while the soldiers defending the C.S. Cutlass finished off the remaining Blackwatch troops. The regular forces secured the area and searched for supplies as Carolyn's group made their way over to them.

"Who's in charge here, soldier?" asked Carolyn.

"That would be Lt. Fern. He's in charge of defending this gate until all our forces are onboard, ma'am." The soldier showed her where his superior was then left to reinforce the defense line. When Lt. Fern noticed Carolyn approaching, he promptly rendered a salute.

"At ease, lieutenant. Where's Col. Vears?" asked Carolyn.

"He's inside the Cutlass directing the withdrawal of our troops, ma'am."

"How long until we're out of here? Blackwatch is closing in on us."

"I'm not sure, ma'am. You're going to have to ask Col. Vears or Cmdr. Thatcher. You can find them on the bridge."

"Thank you, lieutenant," said Carolyn before heading into the ship with her group.

"Are we going to be all right, ma'am?" asked Haruhi.

"It's too soon to tell, Okane. You'll know once I talk with Vears or Thatcher." They continued into the ship and headed straight for the bridge. The bridge was hustling and bustling with crew trying to get the ship ready for launch. Carolyn had everyone else wait outside while she went to talk with the commanding officers. Cmdr. Thatcher was at the helm of the ship, giving orders to his senior staff. Col. Vears was at the communications station, talking to his platoon leaders of the coms.

"Col. Vears, Capt. Ren reporting for duty," she said, rendering a salute.

He got off the coms and returned the salute. "Good to see you made it, captain."

"How long until we launch?"

"I don't know. We still have units out there in the city and troops in the base fighting Blackwatch. We can't just leave them here. If we do, we'd be no better than them."

"We can't just wait around forever. Blackwatch might sabotage the ship or the infection might reach here. We need to get this hunk of metal off the ground now, sir."

"That's not happening, captain, and that's final." He turned away from her and got back on the coms to direct the retreat. Carolyn sneered at him and left the bridge, returning to Debbie and the prodigies.

"What's the news?" asked Debbie.

"We're grounded until they pull back everyone, and he means _everyone_," said Carolyn.

"But that's suicide! No offense to the regular army, but Blackwatch is eventually going to make their way to this ship. And with the frontline troops gone, the infection has gone unchecked!" said Jesse.

"Just stay calm and keep alert. We've got to hold down the fort until Thatcher and Vears find it convenient to lift off. C'mon, let's just wait in the mess hall until either we lift off, or we get blown to bits. That's the only choices we have right now." She sighed and started walking off to the mess hall, lighting a cigarette held I her mouth. The prodigies looked at each other with disheartened looks and followed after her. Once in the mess hall, they found some food to chow down on as they waited for the rest of the troops to fall back.

"At least we're somewhat safe, right?" said Jesse, trying to remain optimistic.

"Yeah, until Blackwatch fights their way up here and kills us all," said Steven.

"That or the zombie horde overruns the ship," said Haruhi.

Debbie looked at the prodigies and shook her head. "Why are you guys so negative? There's still a chance of us getting out here."

"But how much longer? I won't start celebrating until I'm off this planet and away from all this," said Jesse. They sat together in the mess hall for about an hour, the longest hour any of them had to endure in their life. Fortunately for them, the regular forces were able to hold back Blackwatch and the zombie horde. Once everyone was onboard, Cmdr. Thatcher gave the order to lift off. The ship rose from the tarmac and headed full speed into orbit.

"Finally, we're outta that hell hole," said the main pilot of the C.S. Cutlass.

"Good job, everyone. We made it," said Cmdr. Thatcher from his seat.

"Sir! I've got an incoming transmission from the C.S. Divinity!" said the bridge com officer.

"Patch me through."

The com officer flipped a few switches and directed the transmission to the commander's chair. "This is Cmdr. Alston of the C.S. Divinity. You are approaching the quarantine blockade and must turn back immediately."

"This is Cmdr. Thatcher. Cmdr. Alston, we have survivors from the Grandeur City area. There aren't any infected onboard. Please, let us through."

"I am under strict orders to not let any ship through, military or civilian. I'm sorry, commander."

"G**d******, you can't do this! We're staying the course whether you like it or not."

"Be advised. We've been authorized to use lethal force if necessary to deter non-compliant ships. Continue and you will be fired upon. This is your final warning."

"What should I do, sir?" asked the main pilot, turning to Cmdr. Thatcher.

"Full speed ahead. They won't do it." The pilot had a nervous look on his face and turned back to his station. "Aye, commander. Full speed ahead."

Meanwhile, Carolyn's group was still in the mess hall, chatting away. "How long do you think until they can contain the problem, if they ever do?" asked Jesse.

Haruhi scoffed and leaned back in her chair. "Who's knows? I doubt that they'll-" Before she could finish, an explosion rocked the ship, causing her to fall backwards. "Ow! What heck was that!?" Another explosion jolted the Cutlass more violently than the last.

As they were looked around, Cmdr. Thatcher was heard over the ship-wide intercom. "This is your commander speaking! All hands, to the escape pods! We're under heavy fire from the quarantine blockade! Our ship won't last long under the combined fire of an entire battlegroup, so evac ASAP!"

"They're firing on us? But why!?" asked Debbie.

"Containment. I guess they don't want to risk the infection spreading," said Carolyn.

"So what do we do?" asked Raphael.

"You heard the commander. Get to the escape pods!" She and Debbie gathered the prodigies and led them to the nearest escape pods. They followed the crew through the corridors of the unfamiliar ship, hoping they were headed in the right direction. Holes were being punctured through the ship's hull left and right, prompting security bulkheads to close shut in order to prevent oxygen loss. As they were running through one of the loading areas, an explosion nearby caused Jesse to lose balance and fall to the ground. The group stopped at the exit to the room and turned around.

"Jesse!" said Haruhi.

"Don't worry, I got her!" said Steven, running back to help her up. Just as he left, the bulkhead started to rapidly close.

"Steven! The door's closing!" said Raphael. Before Steven could turn around to see what was happening, he and Jesse were sucked into space through a breach in the hull as the bulkhead closed shut. "G**d******! They're still in there!" he said, banging on the door.

Carolyn moved over to him and pulled him away from the door. "It's no use, Comet! They're gone! We need to keep moving!" Raphael struck the door once last time and moved with the group to the escape pods. There were crew scrambling all around the escape pod bay, but they were able to find a vacant one to use. "Everyone, inside!" said Carolyn, motioning into the escape pod. Raphael moved into the cockpit and started it up. Once everyone was inside, he hit the button to close the back hatch, but nothing happened. Panicking, he pressed it again and again, but it was no use. An error indicator popped up on his console telling him the door mechanism was compromised.

"What's the matter, Comet!? Let's move it already!" said Carolyn.

"The door control is busted! I can't close it unless someone does it manually!"

"Well, how do you do that!?"

"Someone has to do it from the outside. There's a panel just outside the door that would close the door."

"So…someone has to stay behind to close it?"

Raphael remained silent for a moment, then responded. "That's affirmative, ma'am." Everyone in the pod looked down, thinking of who would have to stay behind.

Debbie was about to volunteer, but Carolyn spoke up first. "I'll do it."

Debbie stood up from her seat and confronted her. "No, ma'am! I should do it."

"No can do, Debbie. I've already lived a full life and done things that I still regret doing. I have no right to live by sacrificing one of you. You three still have a ways to go."

"But, ma'am!"

"Enough! What's done is done. It was a pleasure serving with all of you."

Carolyn gave a salute and was about to turn around, until Debbie stopped her. "Before you go, I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

As she turned around, Debbie punched her in the jaw, knocking her out. "Please, forgive me." She knelt down and kissed her on the check, then looked to Haruhi. "Okane, pull her inside. I'll release the manual override." Haruhi was shocked, but complied, pulling her body completely inside the pod. "Once the door is closed, launch no matter what. Is that clear, Raphael?" said Debbie.

He looked at her and nodded. Debbie stepped out and opened the override panel, turning the handle to close the door. The door slid shut and a green indicator lit up on Raphael's flight console. Once the door closed, Carolyn came to and stood up, seeing her on the other side of the door. Debbie was able to mouth a few last words before Raphael hit the launch button, propelling the craft out of the ship.

"Debbie? Debbie! Comet, turn this ship around!" said Carolyn, still looking out the back of the pod.

"I'm sorry, ma'am! She told me to launch and there's no way I can turn around now."

"Why would she do that? I should've been the one to pull the lever, not her!"

"I don't know, but she really cared about you, ma'am. That's probably why she sacrificed herself," said Haruhi.

"Oh, Debbie. She didn't deserve that," said Carolyn. As they were floating through space, there were explosions nearby that shook the ship. Carolyn looked out the window again and saw ships from the blockade shooting at escape pods. "Shoot. That's not good."

"Ma'am, where do we go now?" asked Raphael, struggling to keep control of the escape pod.

"Just get away from the blockade. They're shooting down all the escape pods!" Their pod rocked back and forth as nearby escape pods were blown to bits. Raphael maneuvered the craft through the debris and headed back to Corneria.

As he turned back towards the planet, Haruhi noticed an incoming missile coming at them from behind. She backed away from the rear window and screamed, bumping into him in the cockpit. "Watch out!"

#

Raphael gasped as he sat up in bed, breathing heavily as he frantically looked around. He was back at his room and everything seemed to be normal. He wiped his forehead and turned on the side table lamp next to the bed. _'What the heck? Where am I? I'm back at the base? Was it all a dream?'_ He sighed and felt someone stir next to him.

Amy started to wake up as the light shined on her eyes. "What's the matter, Raph? It's so early."

He looked at her with relief, overjoyed to see her still alive, "Amy? You're alive! I missed you so much!" He embraced her in his arms and started hugging and kissing her, tears flowing down his cheeks.

Amy, confused and annoyed at his sudden hysteria, tried to get him off her. "Hey, stop! What's gotten into you? What do you mean 'still alive'?"

"I had the worst dream ever. There was zombies and you got infected so I had to kill you. Susan chopped her hand off. Kyle shot Kari then killed himself. Then Yumi got mowed down by a Blackwatch EBA. After that, Jesse and Steven got stranded on the C.S. Cutlass. And, well…it's a long story."

She just looked at him with a blank look on her face. "Man, you need to lay off the ferreros before bed. You keep getting these horrible dreams after you eat them right before you go to sleep. That sounded like a very gruesome dream, especially when you said you killed me, which is disturbing."

"It was. I'm just glad you're okay and that it was all just a dream."

She smiled, amused by his affection for her, and laid back down next to him. "That's nice, Raph. Now turn off the light and go back to sleep. You can tell me all about it later." Raphael gently caressed her cheek then turned off the light, nestling his head on his pillow.


	7. Chapter 7 - Nothing but Each Other

"What!?"

Before Raphael could turn to see what she was talking about, pieces from a destroyed pod intercepted the path of the missile and detonated it before it could reach their pod. The shockwave shook the craft, damaging some of the flight systems.

"That was close. Comet, can you get us back on the ground?" asked Carolyn.

"Some of the systems are fried, but I can try, ma'am." Raphael wrestled with the flight stick and entered back into the planet's atmosphere. The navigation controls were still intact, but glitchy, so he tried to plot a course anywhere but Grandeur City. Unfortunately, the controls were unresponsive and couldn't plot anywhere but there. "Ma'am, I can't get this craft to head anywhere else except back where we came from."

"Just get us on the ground safely. I don't care where."

"Roger that." He tried to keep the pod steady as he steadily made his descent back towards the city. Once the city came into view, he tried to find a suitable place to bring the craft down on. There weren't that many options to choose from, but as he was scanning, he saw a long stretch of empty street near the center of the city. "Ma'am, there's a long strip of street I can land on."

"Do it. Just try to keep us in one piece."

Raphael nodded and plotted the approach vector. After he set the autopilot to follow the directed path he set, he moved from the cockpit and strapped himself in the back with the others. Once their safety harnesses were secured, they anxiously awaited the pod's impact on the hard asphalt. The autopilot engaged the airbrakes and prepared for landing, initiating a count down through the pod's speakers. As the mechanical voice began at five, Raphael and the others crossed their fingers and prayed for a smooth landing. The pod's underbelly scraped the street, bouncing on the street before going into a full skid down the road. The airbrakes dug into the ground and broke off due to the stress of the crash landing. Inside the pod, Raphael and the others were shaking in their seats, jerking side to side as the pod continued on, grinding metal against asphalt as it slowed to a halt. Even after the pod stopped, the three of them were breathing heavily in their seats, still fearful from the ride in.

Getting a hold of herself, Carolyn looked around the pod. "Is everyone okay?"

Raphael gave a thumbs up, but remained silent. Haruhi put a hand to her mouth then hit the quick-release on her harness, opening the back hatch and vomiting just outside the pod. Raphael undid his harness as well and went out to help her. Carolyn unstrapped herself and scavenged the crashed pod for anything useful; she picked up a medic-kit, a small survival bag filled with miscellaneous supplies, and a survival rifle that was stashed under the seats. Gathering everything, she stepped outside and checked on the two prodigies. Haruhi had recovered and was doing fine along with Raphael.

"Thanks for getting us down alive, Comet," said Carolyn.

"You're welcome, ma'am," he said. All three of the looked around and saw zombies everywhere, heading to their position at a slow, sedate pace.

"Now what? We survived the crash, but now we're back in this mess," said Haruhi. As they were looking in front of them, a zombie came up from behind them and let out a moan, alerting the three of his presence. Haruhi was closest to it and turned around in fright. Carolyn pushed her out of the way and bashed the zombie's head in with the butt of her rifle. More zombies were coming from behind, slowly surrounding the group and the pod.

"We need to move, ma'am!" said Raphael, drawing his sidearm and firing at the closest zombie to him.

Carolyn hastily scanned the surrounding area and found a suitable location to fall back. "Quick, to the underground shopping mall!" Raphael and Haruhi looked to her, skeptical about her sudden choice in sanctuary. "Don't give me that look. Move!" They did as they were told and sprinted for the mall's entrance. Carolyn followed closely behind, only firing her weapon if she really needed to. Once the doors were locked, Haruhi slowly dropped to the ground, tired and heartbroken as she went into the fetal position. Raphael leaned back against a wall, sliding down to the floor and resting his arms on his knees. Cursing to herself, Carolyn paced back and forth in the hallway, rubbing the back of her neck with her hands

She stopped momentarily in the center of the hall, eying Raphael and Haruhi. "Comet, Okane, give me all the rifle magazines you got." Having no use for them, they complied and handed over all the rifle rounds and magazines they had. She took the ammunition and stashed it wherever she could on her person. Carolyn eyed a few of the other items Raphael and Haruhi had on them as well. "And your water. Hand it over."

Raphael and Haruhi exchanged confused looks. "What for?" he asked.

"Just do it!"

Trying to avoid confrontation, they reluctantly complied and gave her their water bottles as well. Carolyn took them and placed them in a few empty spots on her vest. Once everything was in place, she turned her back to them and began walking down the hall into the mall. Raphael and Haruhi looked to each other, worried about what was going on. They got up and followed after her, hurrying to catch up.

As she heard footsteps behind her, Carolyn turned around and raised her rifle at them. "Don't follow me. You'll just end up dying like the others." As Raphael took a step forward, she fired two shots, one to the ground right in front of each of them. Raphael jumped back while Haruhi dropped to the ground, placing her hands over her head as she trembled in fear. "Not another step. I'm not letting anyone else die while under my command." She turned back around and continued walking.

"And what do you call abandoning us here then!? What if we die!? It'll be all your fault!" said Raphael. She ignored him and disappeared into the mall.

Haruhi crawled over to him and clung onto his leg. "I'm scared, Raph."

He knelt down next to her and placed his arms around her, hugging her close. "It's okay, Haruhi. We'll figure out a way to survive without her." Haruhi began to cry and buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him as well. After he let her cry for a bit, he let go of her and stood back. "C'mon. We can't stay here."

"But Instructor Ren is out there! She's going to kill us!" said Haruhi.

"She's probably long gone by now. We need to find more supplies and a place to hold out, or at least, until we figure out what to do next."

Haruhi looked outside then back to him, giving a nod. Raphael led the way into the mall followed by her, both of them having their sidearms drawn. As they walked down the hallway, they heard gunshots up ahead, prompting them to crouch to the ground. Once it was quiet again, and after waiting a few moments, they continued on. Coming to the end of the hallway, they finally entered the main portion of the mall. Everything was silent, except for the occasional moan of a wandering zombie.

"Damn. And I was hoping to have a zombie-free shopping spree while I was here," said Haruhi. Raphael chuckled and she gave him a slight smile.

"We better go this way. Instructor Ren's been down that way," he said, spotting the dead zombies on the ground. They walked in the opposite direction and kept alert for hostiles. As they were walking along, their stomachs started to rumble.

"Raph, I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too. Let's find a map. This mall should definitely have a food court, or some sort of food vendor." Once they found an information booth, they scrounged around and found a map. "Good thing we went this way. The food court should be just up ahead," he said.

"I'm so hungry. I hope there's something there we can eat that's still fresh," said Haruhi.

They left the booth and eagerly made their way to the food court. They encountered a few zombies along the way, but rather than shooting them, they just went around them as to not attract more undead. Surprisingly, the food court was void of zombies, since it was its own level and the only way to access it was via escalator or elevator. They quickly swept the area and finally relaxed, looking around for food to eat. Raphael settled with a few pieces of pizza to chow down on while Haruhi hungered for something a bit more refined. She found a sushi bar with pre-packaged sushi still cold and fresh. Sitting down together to eat, both of them hesitated to start, despite being really hungry.

"You're not hungry?" asked Raphael, noticing Haruhi's distraught look.

"I am, but I just can't bring myself to eat," she said, fiddling with her chopsticks.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Besides being in a zombie apocalypse and everyone being dead?" Raphael looked away, sorry for asking such an obvious question. She slowly picked up a piece of sushi and brought it to her snout, taking the entire morsel in her mouth. Watching her eat, and acknowledging the rumbling in his stomach, Raphael picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite. The two ate together in silence, the moans of zombies echoing in the background, until they had their full.

"That was good. I haven't eaten that much in a long time," said Haruhi, picking at her teeth with a chopstick.

"Yeah. Now I can't run to avoid zombies," said Raphael with a chuckle, patting his belly.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. Wanna just walk around? There aren't that many zombies around, so we should be okay?"

"Actually, I was thinking about something a little more…physical."

"Physical?" he asked, giving her a curious look.

"Once my food settles, I want to go kill some zombies," she said with a smirk.

"Don't you think we should save our ammo for when we really need it? We shouldn't go looking for trouble."

"We don't have to use our sidearms, Raph. I saw a sports store on the way here, so, there should be tons of stuff we can use as weapons."

"Well, if that's what you really want to do," said Raphael, reclining in his chair.

"It is. I just want to kill every single one of them."

"Eh, that's fine with me. There's nothing going on with me anyway."

They chatted for a bit longer, letting their stomachs relax, then got up and headed back down the escalators towards the sports shop. They carefully traversed back from which they came. Haruhi spotted the shop and stopped in front of the entrance. She looked to Raphael and they both crew their sidearms as they progressed into the store together. Checking the isles one by one, and clearing the backroom, they secured the shop and lowered the security grate, allowing them to peruse through the merchandise with peace of mind.

"What do you think I should use?" asked Haruhi, picking up several items off the shelves.

"Whatever you want. Personally, I'm going to roll with this expensive, reinforced putter. It has good reach, it's easy to wield, and it will last a while."

Haruhi looked at her options and decided to go with a more traditional approach. "I'll just use this metal baseball bat. It's durable and has around the same weight and feel as the paper cutter I was using earlier. Man, I miss that thing." She looked at the bat then glanced over to the cash register, grinning. Taking the bat in hand, she swung at the machine, bashing open the cash drawer.

The loud noise caused Raphael to jump, so he turned around to see the cause of the disturbance. "Haruhi, what the heck are you doing?"

"What? If I survive this thing, I want to have something to show for it. Besides, no one is watching," she said, emptying the cash drawer. She took a twenty credit bill and handed it to him. "Here, a little something for your troubles."

"I can't take that. That's wrong and you know it. We're Prodigies and need to keep a certain level of integrity, you know?"

She scowled at him and walked over, facing him and jabbing at his chest with her finger. "Don't even talk to me about '_integrity_'. Just moments ago, our superior shot at us and left us for dead. And who are you to talk about integrity? Did you already forget what you and Kari did at my house? Yeah. Don't even start." She pocketed all the money and picked up her bat, moving into the back room in search of more valuables. As she disappeared into the other room, Raphael just stood there, reflecting on his involvement with Kari the day before.

As she cleared the backroom of all the extra cash, Haruhi noticed another door in the hallway leading back into the storefront. Curious, and eager for more riches, she grabbed the handle and opened the door. Once the door was swung open, she stepped into a small, warehouse-like room used to house the store's excess inventory. The lights were already on, so she stepped inside, letting the door close behind her with a slam. As the door slammed shut, she heard rustling from the far end of the room.

She walked inside and looked around. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She heard movement again, but couldn't see where it was coming from. Anxious and frightened, she drew her sidearm and kept alert. With curiosity and greed getting the better of her, she moved further into the warehouse, despite her better judgment. As she came out of the isle she was in, a guy knocked her sidearm out of her hand using a hockey stick. While she was distracted, another man moved out of the shadows and grabbed her from behind, restraining her arms. Haruhi started shouting vulgar insults at them and was kicking wildly. The guy with the hockey stick struck her in the abdomen with the backend of his stick. The breath was immediately knocked out of her, and even though she had her tac-vest on, she still felt the force of the blow.

The man holding her kept her arms pinned and started kissing her neck, drawing a knife and bringing it up to her jugular. "Hey, Boss! We got a feisty one here!" he said.

The leader of the three ruffians made himself known and approached Haruhi and his two goons. "Well, lookey here. You're kinda young to be in the military, eh, missy? So why don't you tell me where you got all that, huh?" Haruhi was still trying to catch her breath and remained silent. "What? Nothing to say?" He caressed her snout and moved face-to-face with her. "Well, don't worry. We'll be making you scream all night long. Isn't that right, boys?" They chuckled, but Haruhi caught her breath and spit in his face. The boss grimaced and smacked her across the cheek. "Don't you worry. We're going to take-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was on the ground with a bullet in his head, the sound of a gunshot ringing in everyone's ears. The guy with the hockey stick stood in shock as Raphael pumped two rounds into his chest, dropping him to the floor.

The last man used Haruhi as a shield and kept her between him and Raphael. "Drop the gun, punk, or I'll slit her throat!" he said.

"You kill her, I drop you in a heartbeat," said Raphael, keeping his weapon poised and aimed.

"Don't tempt me, boy. I'm sure you don't want the blood of this fine piece of a** on your conscience, do you?"

At that moment, she had just enough room to move and kicked the man in the groin, releasing his grip on her. Once she was free, Raphael took aim and shot him in the knee. Haruhi turned around to see her captor lying on the ground in pain, but still alive. "What are you doing? These guys beat me up and were about to rape me, and all you do is shoot him in the knee!? Damn it. Let me show you how it's done." She picked up her gun from the floor and pointed it towards the last thug, shooting him in the other knee.

The man gripped the fresh wound and cried with terror as Haruhi made her way over to him. "Please. Please don't kill me!" he said. Haruhi didn't bother heeding his words and shot him twice, one shot to each shoulder. The man was shouting in pain, pleasing for his life with all the strength he had left. Raphael didn't want to interfere and just let her vent her anger.

"Any last words?" asked Haruhi, keeping her pistol aimed at him. The man couldn't speak and was engulfed in tears. Growing fed up with her assailant's constant sniveling and begging, she unloaded the rest of her magazine into his chest, firing with a large grin across her face. Once she was empty, and her target dead, she reloaded her sidearm and holstered it, walking over to Raphael, tired and still hurting from earlier. "Thanks, for saving me back there."

"It's fine," he said, patting her on the shoulder as he moved passed her to inspect the bodies.

She turned around and grabbed his sleeve. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "And…I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have brought that up," she said. He gave a nod and proceeded on to checking the bodies for anything useful. As her was kneeling down beside the corpses, Haruhi got a second look at the man she had killed, the grisly sight she caused forming an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She removed her gaze from the scene and nearly vomited after reflecting on her behavior. After finding nothing of use, Raphael got up and headed over to the office in the back of the warehouse. Based on the modifications he could see, he guessed that was where the thugs had set up camp. Noticing him leaving, Haruhi wiped her mouth and followed after him. As they approached the office, they spotted a body by the side of the door, bound, gagged, and beaten to death; he was a rabbit in his mid twenties.

"I guess it was a good thing you killed him after all," said Raphael after making sure the victim was really dead.

She just looked away, tired from all the death she had seen that day. The two of them entered the office, wary of any people that may be lurking inside. Raphael flipped the light switch which illuminated the room, void of any belligerents much to their relief. They noticed that all the desks were pushed off to the side, making a sort of fortified barrier in front of the entrance. Once passed the barricade, they saw that the men had collected a plentiful stock of food, water, and other vital supplies, along with certain items of entertainment. While rummaging through their supplies, Raphael noticed a stash of valuables laid out on a table. Several wads of credits were piled next to each other with coins, jewelry, and other valuables strewed out around the stacks.

"Looks like you hit the jackpot, Haruhi. Here's all the loot you wanted in the first place, conveniently gathered just for you," he said, trying to poke some fun at her to lighten the mood.

She just looked at the treasures on table and turned away in disgust, sickened due to the fact that her greedy nature got her in this situation in the first place. "I don't want it anymore. You're right. Nothing good can come from that." When she turned away from the table, she noticed that the back of the office was secluded by bed sheets hung from a clothesline. "Hey, Raph, what's that?"

He looked over as well and moved next to her. "I don't know. I think I hear something moving behind the sheets, but I can't see it." He drew his sidearm and had Haruhi stay back to cover him, just in case. He inched closer and closer to the sheets, keeping he weapon at the ready.


	8. Chapter 8 - Left Behind

When he was but one foot away from the sheets, he reached up to pull the sheets away and hesitated. He waited a few seconds, mustering up the courage before he flung the sheets away, revealing not a brain-hungry zombie or crazed civilian, but instead a bare-bodied female raccoon lying on a mattress. She was in her mid-twenties and was tied down, her ankles and wrists tied to each corner of the mattress. When Raphael appeared, she looked up at him and tried to talk, but her voice was muffled by the tape of her mouth. Once he saw her, he blushed as he turned his back to her.

"What's wrong?" asked Haruhi.

"I need your help over here."

"What is it?"

"Just come here, please."

She holstered her sidearm and moved over next to him, seeing the women on the mattress when she came into view. She blushed as well but didn't bother turning around. "Ah. I'm guessing you want me to free her right?" Raphael nodded as he turned to her, trying to not catch view of the naked women behind him. Haruhi acknowledged him and went over to the prisoner the thugs had, removing the tape from her mouth.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here! Are you here to rescue us?"

"Um, not really. We were just passing through," said Haruhi as she moved to undo the first knot holding her down.

"What do you mean '_us_'? There are others?" asked Raphael.

"Well, just one other. He saved me from those zombies during the evacuation and we just stuck together ever since. Didn't quite make it to the evacuation area, though, so we decided to take refuge here. That was a bad choice, huh?"

"What his name and what did he look like?" asked Haruhi.

"I think his name was Blake and he was a gray rabbit." Just as she said that, Haruhi turned back to Raphael and they both knew that the rabbit she was talking about was the same one they saw dead, just outside the office.

Haruhi momentarily stopped on the knot she was doing and stepped back next to him. "That's the same guy as out there, right?"

"Yeah. That's him."

"What should we tell her?"

"Nothing yet. Let's just get her clothed and fed. Once she's taken care of, we'll tell her about it." Haruhi nodded and went back to freeing the woman.

"What were you talking about? Was it something I said? Did you find Blake?" asked the woman.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just take care of you first," said Haruhi, undoing the last knot. "There we go. Are your clothes around here?"

The woman rubbed her wrists and ankle, sore from the rope used to bind them to the mattress. "Thanks. I'm so sore and tired from being strapped to this thing." She looked around and saw pieces of her clothing here and there. "I think I'm going to need some new clothes, though. The b******* ripped them off me and tore them to shreds, so…"

"That's okay, I'll go find you some in the store," said Raphael.

Just as he was about to leave, Haruhi got up and held him back. "I'll go. I know how women's clothes sizes work, so you just stay here with her. I won't be long." She left the two and went into the store to find the woman a new set of clothes. Raphael remained with her, keeping his back to her.

She stretched her arms while remaining seated on the mattress. "So, what's your name, soldier?" she asked.

"I'm not a soldier. I'm still a Prodigy in the academy. And my name's Raphael Comet."

"Nice to meet you, Raphael. I'm Trisha, but you can call me Trish."

"Glad to have you with us, Trish."

At that moment, Haruhi hurried back with Trisha's new clothes. "Here you go. I got you a set of black jogging pants, a nice, pink t-shirt, panties, a sport-bra, and white ankle socks. I didn't get you shoes yet, since you and I know how hard it is to find a pair of sneakers that fit just right. You can pick your own before we head on out. By the way, I didn't quite catch your name."

"My name's Trish, and thanks for the clothes," she said, taking the clothes.

"I'm Haruhi Okane."

"You're a prodigy too?"

"Yeah. Raph and I go to the same academy."

"Are there any more of you guys out there?"

Haruhi and Raphael exchanged disheartened looks, remembering all of their friends who had died. "At first, there were a lot of us, but as time went on, and after moving from place to place, we lost a lot of friends until we were the only two left," he said.

"Well, there is our deadbeat superior, Instructor Ren, but she went crazy and stormed off into the mall, lurking about somewhere," said Haruhi.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Trisha.

"I don't know, but she took all our water and rifle ammo, then left us for dead, nearly killing us before she left," said Haruhi.

"Oh, that's unfortunate."

"So, how in the world did you get in the mess, anyway?"

Trisha continued to get dressed while she told her story. "Well, like I said before, I was on my way to the evacuation point until I got secluded from my ground and eventually surrounded by zombies. Then Blake came along and saved me. We couldn't get to the others, so we decided to take refuge here, in this mall. It was fine at first until we ran into those three guys, whom I assumed you took care from all the shooting earlier."

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Raphael.

"That's all right. So long as those guys are dead, I don't mind the loud gunshots, and from the sound of it, you made one of them suffer real good."

"That was me, though I kind of regret doing that now," said Haruhi.

"Yeah, well, anyway, the three thugs said they wanted me and to hand me over, but Blake refused and fought for me. Eventually, they overpowered him and took him off somewhere. I haven't seen him since. When he was gone, they came back for me and brought me to their hideout, stripping me of my clothes and having their way with me, over and over again. That was a day and a half ago."

"That's horrible. If Raph hadn't shown up, I guess I would've shared the same fate," said Haruhi, looking away while thinking about the grisly thought.

"Is there anything you need? There's some food and water for you here if you want it," said Raphael.

"Thanks. And these clothes fit real well. How did you know my sizes?" asked Trisha.

"Fashion is a hobby of mine, so I know how clothes fit on women. I just kinda eyeball it and pick what seems right," said Haruhi.

"I can't imagine how awful it must've been, having these guys use you like that. Were you…a virgin?" asked Raphael.

"Raph, that's kinda personal, don't you think? She's been through a lot and the last thing she would want to think about is losing her virginity to a bunch of pricks," said Haruhi.

"No. It's fine. Actually, I wasn't a virgin when they raped me, so it's not as bad as it sounds. But, it wasn't _too_ bad. At first, I cried and tried to resist, but as time went on, and after getting used to them, I actually…kinda…liked it." Raphael and Haruhi just looked at her with confused looks. "Now I know what you're thinking '_How can you like getting raped?_'. Well, like I said, it wasn't _too_ bad. They weren't too forceful on me and didn't beat me up, so long as I didn't resist or try to escape. Once they got into the groove, they just went about their business and even pulled out every single time."

"Uh huh, why did they do that?" asked Haruhi.

"The boss told them to, so they could '_make me last longer_'. He didn't want me getting pregnant, so he told them not to do it in me."

"That's just sick. I'm glad they're dead now," said Haruhi.

"At least it was considerate of them."

"If you really liked it that much, maybe we should have just left you here with these guys," said Raphael.

"No! No. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad you guys save me. Even though the sex was fun for a while, it didn't make up for the constant abuse and long lengths of just waiting while they weren't using me. I don't think I could've lasted much longer, so I'm glad I'm free, thanks to you two."

"You're welcome. Now get something to eat so we can get you cleaned up. You look like a mess," said Haruhi.

"I would imagine so," said Trisha with a chuckle. Once she had a bite to eat, she followed Raphael and Haruhi out the office. Once she exited, she noticed Blake's corpse off to the side. "Blake!" she said, crouching down next to his motionless body.

"Oh yeah, forgot about him," said Raphael, standing next to her with Haruhi.

"The idiots we killed beat him to death. I'm sorry, Trish," said Haruhi.

Trisha stood back up, wiping the tears from her eyes. Remembering the men who killed him and raped her, she stormed off in search of them. Once she found the three dead men, she made her way over to them and stood over their bodies, looking at their corpses with eyes filled with tears. Raphael and Haruhi exchanged concerned looks and hurried after her. As she looked at them, filled with rage, she began kicking each of them in the groin, reputedly kicking each of them over and over. When Raphael came over and saw her pummeling the dead men's genitals with her foot, he couldn't help but feel uneasy, almost feeling their pain down in his pelvis.

When she was done, Haruhi walked over to her and placed her hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. It's over now. They're dead. I'm sure that Blake would be happy to know that you're still alive.

"That's okay, guys. I didn't really know him that well. Though, it is sad that he died like this, after saving me and all." She took a moment to regain her composure then followed them back into the store. "Hey, don't I get a weapon?" she asked before Raphael and Haruhi lifted up the security gate.

"Um. Yeah. Just pick something," said Raphael.

"What do you recommend?"

"Whatever feels best. I'd just use a regular baseball bat if I were you," said Haruhi.

"That sounds too physical…and dirty."

"Girl, please, just what exactly did you use to do before all this?"

"I worked as a librarian," said Trisha, putting her hands on her hips.

"I guess that explains why she likes getting raped so much," said Haruhi under her breath to Rapahel.

"What'd ya say?" asked Trisha.

"I said hurry up and find something already. We need to get moving," said Haruhi, rolling her eyes.

Trisha scowled at her and picked up a cricket bat to use. Once she had her melee weapon, she went to find a pair of shoes that fit her. As she was looking for a pair of shoes, Raphael took three backpacks and went back to the office and filled them with the rest of the food, water, and other supplies that were left.

"Did you find a pair that fits yet?" asked Haruhi, making her way over to Trisha.

She was trying on a pair of top-of-the-line, black and pink running shoes and seemed content with them. "These shoes will work. With my salary, I could never afford shoes like this."

As she was making sure they fit snug, Raphael came back and handed her and Haruhi a backpack filled with supplies. "Here you guys go. I took everything I could from the office that was useful."

"Thanks. So where we headed?" she asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"First, we have to find a bathroom. I have to go and you probably want to shower. After that, we need to find a safe place to hold up until rescue comes along," said Raphael.

"Why can't we stay here? There aren't that many zombies around and we can just close this gate to keep us safe."

"This place isn't exactly stocked to last awhile, no running water, and there are three dead men rotting in the back room," said Haruhi.

"Oh. I see your point now," said Trisha.

"All right, let's get moving," said Raphael, moving into position with Haruhi to lift the gate.

Trisha anxiously readied herself as the gate was lifted, exposing them to the zombie threat. Once it was up, Raphael and Haruhi readied their melee weapons and moved back into the mall, keeping a keen eye out for hostiles. As they started moving, Trisha stayed close behind, frightfully gripping her bat tight as they walked along. There were still zombies present, but they weren't near Raphael and the others and didn't pay them any attention, so long as they didn't make much noise.

Raphael saw a sign for a bathroom up ahead and hurried along to get there. Before they went down the hallway leading to the bathrooms, Trisha told them to wait up. "What is it?" asked Raphael.

"There's a Bath Boutique right there. I need some soap, shampoo, and a towel to take a shower," said Trisha.

"There's probably soap and shampoo already in the stalls," said Raphael, eager to get to a toilet to relieve himself.

"But I'd still need a towel," she said.

He looked from the bath store then back to Trisha. "Fine. Just wait here. I have to use the bathroom," he said before hurrying off.

Haruhi turned to Trisha and shook her head. "You're such a girly-girl. If you continue to be such a high-maintenance nuisance, we're leaving your sorry a** behind."

"What? I need a towel," said Trisha.

"You don't _need_ a towel. You just want one."

"Don't you use towels?"

"I do, but under certain circumstances, say like a zombie apocalypse for instance, I can make do without a measly towel."

"Then how do you plan on drying yourself, hmm?"

"Simple. Take your shirt. Dry yourself, then pop it into the PAC and hit 'dry'."

"Well, excuse me. Not all us simple civilian folk are used to your barbaric, militaristic ways."

Haruhi was about to snap back at her until Raphael came back. "Okay. Ready to go," he said.

She didn't bother continuing the fight and just ignored Trisha. The shop was across the way from the bathrooms and there were a moderate amount of zombies in front of it. Raphael and Haruhi readied themselves and swung away at the first zombies in their path. They each struck a zombie in the head, knocking them down to the ground.

"Make sure the ones you hit are really dead. We don't want stragglers biting at our ankles," said Raphael, brining his club down on a downed zombie's skull. They swung and bashed their way to the store's entrance, watching each other's backs as they fought.

Trisha hurried passed the once the path was clear and opened the door. "C'mon! Get inside!" Haruhi followed her inside while Raphael finished off the last zombie around them.

He whisked the blood from his weapon then followed them in, closing and securing the door behind him. "All right. We're in. Now hurry up and find a towel already," said Raphael.

"Not so fast. What's the rush? Since we're here, I might as well find some nice soaps and shampoos to use," said Trisha, browsing the various kinds of merchandise.

"You've got to be kidding," said Raphael, finding a seat to rest on.

While Trisha was looking for her things, Haruhi walked around the store while Raphael kept guard near the front of the shop. She nonchalantly perused through the shelves, making her further back into the shop. As she approached the cash registers and the door leading to the backroom, she couldn't help but feel the urge to pillage again. Even after what happened earlier with the thugs at the sports store, she still had an overwhelming urge to look for money and valuables. She peeked over her shoulder to see that no one was watching then moved behind the counter, forcing the registers open. A smile returned to her face as she began loading her bag with all the bills left behind. _'This is so wrong, yet so right at the same time.'_ She emptied the trays and slung her bag over her shoulder. She caught sight of the door leading back into the "employee's only" room and decided on if she wanted to venture on or not. She looked again towards the front of the store and decided on making a quick check.

Once she opened the door, she froze at the sight of a zombie feasting on a body on the floor. The zombie didn't notice her as it was too busy ripping out the intestines of its victim. To her, it seemed like they were both employees of the store based on their uniforms. She was about to close the door and leave, but she remembered the bat that her hand was firmly grasping. She looked at it then to the zombie. She readied herself and swung with all her might, bringing her bat against the zombie's skull. The zombie shuddered then fell over on its side, dead once more. For good measure, Haruhi also smashed the victim's head in before closing the door and heading back to the front.

"Hey, Haruhi, what happened to you?" asked Raphael as she walked over to him.

"Killed me a couple more zombies in the back," she said, grabbing a towel and sitting down next to him. She used the towel and cleaned off her bat. "Are you done yet?" asked Haruhi to Trisha.

"Just about. There. I've got everything I need. I can't wait to take a long, hot shower," said Trisha with a smile on her face.

"Not too long. We need to find refuge before dark. I have a bad feeling about staying here when the sun goes down," said Raphael, standing up and grabbing his putter. Trisha put her things in a plastic bag and picked up her cricket bat, following Raphael and Haruhi out of the store. The area in front was still mostly clear, so they had no trouble making it back to the restrooms.

"Okay, kids, I'm going to take my shower now, so no peeking, kay?" said Trisha as she started for the women's restroom.

"Now hold up, Ditz McGee, we need to make sure everything is safe. Raph, with me," said Haruhi as she moved towards the female bathroom.

"But what about me?" asked Trisha.

"Stay here. Scream if you need anything," said Raphael, following Haruhi inside. The two readied their makeshift melee weapons and scanned the room. The lights were steady and it seemed void of zombies. The two looked to each other then to the stalls, which were all closed. They gave each other a nod and approached them, opening them one by one. When they came to the last one, Raphael kicked it open, revealing another empty stall.

"That's good. All clear. Want to clear the other bathroom?" asked Haruhi.

"Naw, that's fine. Just let me take a leak here then you two can do whatever while I stand guard outside," said Raphael. Haruhi gave him a nod and let him relieve himself in one of the stalls. When he was done, he notified Trisha and Haruhi outside and let them freshen up.

"Thanks, you guys. I promise, I won't take too long," said Trisha with a wink.

"Yeah, sure you won't," said Haruhi, standing by Raphael outside.

"You're not coming?" asked Trisha. Haruhi just glared at her, not replying to her remark. "Right, right. You and your soldier mannerisms. I got it," said Trisha as she left to take a shower.

"You don't need to wash up?" asked Raphael.

"I already peed. That's all I needed to do," said Haruhi.

"Okay, if you say so." He and Haruhi stood watch while Trisha took her shower. While they waited, Raphael took out the map of the mall and planned on what to do next with Haruhi.

"So, what's the plan, chief?" asked Haruhi.

"Well, if I'm reading this right, there is a hotel connected to this mall, on the other side."

"On the other side? You mean the direction that Instructor Ren went?"

"We'll be fine. I doubt she's going to waste any of her limited ammunition on us if we happen to cross paths."

"That didn't prevent her from shooting at us before."

"Trust me. We need a safe place to stay for the night, so we'll be fine," said Raphael, giving her a look of confidence.

Haruhi was skeptical of the plan, but trusted in his judgment. "Okay, Raph. I trust you on this one." After Trisha was taking longer than planned, Haruhi got fed up and walked into the bathroom, making her way over to where Trisha was taking a shower. "Hey, Trisha, hurry up in there. It's been twenty minutes already."

"Are you serious? It's only been twenty minutes? I've only got my hair and face done," said Trisha from behind the shower door.

"If you're not out of there in five minutes, I'm going to come in there and pull you out personally."

"Okay, okay. Just give me a sec. Geez."

Haruhi cursed under her breath and went back out to Raph.

"Is she almost done?" asked Raphael.

"I gave her five minutes to finish up before I grab her out of there."

"Fine."

After her five minutes were up, she came out and got dried up and dressed. She picked up her bat and went back out with Raphael and Haruhi. "That was relaxing. I feel so much better now," she said.

"Terrific. Now let's move out. Raph and I plan to take refuge in the adjacent hotel. You coming?" asked Haruhi.

"Of course I coming," said Trisha, following her and Raphael back into the mall.

They made their way to the other side of the mall, staying on the ground floor all the way there. Once they passed the halfway mark, they began seeing more and more dead zombies with bullet holes in them. It made the walk to the hotel easier, but it also made them more nervous, not knowing where the shooter was. When they arrived at the hotel, the doors were locked.

"What? The doors are locked? Who the heck does that for a hotel?" said Trisha as she tried pulling the door open.

"Do you think Instructor Ren got here first and locked the doors?" asked Raphael.

"I don't know, but I'm not staying out here any longer," said Haruhi. She took her bat and smashed the lower part of the door, shattering the glass and making a small section big enough to crawl through. "Ladies first," she said, crawling through. After she went, Trisha crawled inside followed by Raphael. The three of them looked around and saw an empty hotel lobby, still clean and untouched by the chaos of the zombie apocalypse.

"Hmm, everything still looks pretty normal," said Raphael.

"Where to?" asked Haruhi.

"Let's get us a room and settle in. We can figure out what to do next tomorrow, but right now, I need a break," said Raphael.

"And some food," said Trisha.

Raphael sighed as he grasped his stomach. "Sounds good. Haruhi, go find us a room key at the front desk. Trisha, come with me to get some food from the mart. Is there anything specific you want, Haruhi?" he asked.

"Eh, not really. Just get a little of everything," said Haruhi.

"Okay. And Haruhi, be careful," said Raphael. She gave him a nod before walking off to the front desk.

"For some reason, I have a feeling that girl doesn't like me," said Trisha as they were looking through the convenience mart.

"What makes you say that?" asked Raphael.

"She's always getting on my case for being such a girly girl, but I can't help it. I _am_ a girl and so is she."

"Heh, you wouldn't have guessed it by looking at her now, but back when things were normal, at the academy, Haruhi was the cleanest, most girly-girl we knew."

"No way."

"She was. Her hobby is fashion and she was always looking clean as a whistle every time we saw her. And when we would do physical activity or combat exercises, she would always complain about getting dirty."

"So why is she the way she is now?"

"If you haven't noticed by now, the world isn't exactly normal anymore, or at least, for us anyway. Believe me, every moment she is fighting against her urges to revert back to her girly ways."

"So why doesn't she?"

"She wants to survive. Simple as that."

Trisha took in his words and thought it over. "Wow. That's deep. Maybe I should take this whole zombie thing more seriously then."

"Yeah, that would help the both of us if you would stop acting so…casually about everything," said Raphael, filling both of his shopping bags.

"I'm sorry, hun. It's just my nature. I've always been carefree about life, especially as a librarian. It keeps my job fun, sort of speak."

"Well, we ain't in a library anymore, so do your best to toughen up." She nodded as she followed him back outside, her bags full with food and drink as well.

"Get anything good?" asked Haruhi, making her way back over to them.

"Lots. How 'bout you?" asked Raphael.

"You'll see," she said with a smirk. She motioned them to follow her and led them to the elevators. She pressed the button and waited for an elevator to arrive.

"I hope it's a nice room," said Trisha.

"Oh, don't worry. It's going to be great," said Haruhi. When an elevator arrived, they got on while Haruhi hit the penthouse suite.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Raphael, noticing the floor she pushed.

"Wait, you found the key to the Presidential Suite at the Grandeur City Katalina?" asked Trisha.

"Is that where we are? I didn't know this was the Katalina Hotel. How do you know about it?" asked Raphael.

"I saw the Presidential Suite featured on the travel channel once. It was a show about the most luxurious hotel suites on Corneria," said Trisha.

"Nice. What number was this one?" asked Haruhi.

"I think it was around eight or nine, but it's still an amazing suite."

Once the elevator arrived at the top of the building, they got off and entered a small hallway leading to the Presidential Suite, which took up the entire top floor. Haruhi got out the keycard and slipped into the card slot, waiting before the light turned green. Once it registered, she pulled it out and opened the door, revealing the luxurious suite for their enjoyment. They all smiled ear to ear and entered, heading to the kitchen to drop off the food bags. Before they sat down to eat, they toured the suite, noticing the exquisite furniture, electronic pleasures, elegant bathrooms, and lavish bedroom.

When they were done roaming about, they went back to eat at the kitchen. "What have we got here?" asked Haruhi.

"I picked up lots of stuff. Chips. Poptarts. Microwaveable dinner items," said Raphael.

"I got us some drinks. A few water bottles, juice bottles, and some random sodas," said Trisha. They brought everything to the dinner table and picked whatever they wanted to eat from the bags. After they ate, Trisha took another shower, taking her time this time, while Raphael and Haruhi chilled in front of the TV. The usual programming was playing on the planetary channels, but all the local channels were still playing the emergency broadcast system. Once Trisha was done, forty minutes later, Raphael and Haruhi took turns showering and were planning sleeping arrangements when everyone was cleaned up.

"Okay, it's almost time for lights out. How are we dividing up the sleeping areas?" asked Raphael.

"Well, I want the master bedroom," said Trisha.

"What? What makes you think you can have the master bedroom?" asked Haruhi, furrowing her eyebrow.

"Because I'm a lady and the oldest of the group, so I get to decided where I sleep. Plus, you kids are used to sleeping on stuff other than normal beds, right? You being in the military and all."

"That is so ignorant of you," said Haruhi.

"It's fine, Haruhi. We have to sleep out here to provide security," said Raphael.

"Are you kidding me? That's your reasoning for letting her have the nice bed? Where are we going to sleep out here?" asked Haruhi.

"The couch folds out into a bed, so I can sleep there. If you want, you can have the other bedroom."

"There's another bedroom?"

"Yeah, on the other side of the suite."

"Oh, cool. I didn't see that."

"So is everyone okay? Can we get some sleep now?" asked Raphael.

"Sounds fine to me. Now, if you would excuse me, I'm going to hit the hay. Goodnight, you two," said Trisha, making her way into the bedroom and closing the door.

"All right, Haruhi, I'm going to get some sleep, so see you in the morning," said Raphael as he began getting his couch bed set up.

"Oh, okay. See you in the morning," said Haruhi, making her way to her room.

When his bed was ready, he turned off the lights and got comfortable on the couch. He made sure his vest and gear were nearby, keeping them at arm's reach. He also liked what Carolyn instituted back at Susan's house, so he kept his boots on as did Haruhi. Trisha wouldn't have any of it and took her shoes off.

Raphael sighed as rested his head on his pillow. "Ah, I think we'll be okay. I wonder who else is out there." He was about to shut his eyes until he heard footsteps next to his bed. He tensed up as he tried to see through the dark. Before he could get out of bed to turn on the lights, someone lifted the sheets and got into bed next to him.

"Got room for two?" asked Haruhi, scooting in next to him.

"Haruhi, what are you doing here?" asked Raphael.

"I can't sleep in that room by myself. I don't feel safe. I feel more comfortable and at ease if there's someone else in the room with me, and I'd rather not sleep with Trisha."

"Um, okay, but isn't this a bit…weird?"

"Please, we already slept together once. Grow up already. Besides, I'm not in to your kind, remember, boy?" she said with their backs facing each other

"I guess," said Raphael, accidentally swishing his tail over her. Haruhi was about to push it off, but his tail reminded her of Susan. She too would also lay her tail over her, so Haruhi let it lay there. She smiled and closed her eyes for the night.


	9. Chapter 9 - Nowhere to Go

"In latest news, the quarantine of Grandeur City still remains in effect as military forces continue to hold back the infection and prevent it from spreading. Several Army and Air Force units have been called in to aid in the effort to contain the outbreak. In other news…"

Haruhi's ears twitched at the sound of the news coming from the T.V. nearby. She opened her eyes to see Raphael's face in front of hers. At the same time, she realized that they were in each other's arms. "Urgh, get away from me!" she said, pushing him away and sitting up.

"Huh, what?" he asked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up as well.

"You had your arms around me!"

"I did? Well, sorry about that. I didn't know I was doing it."

"Good morning, you two," said Trisha from the couch next to theirs.

"You're up early," said Raphael.

"Early? It's, like, 9:30."

"9:30 already? Dang. I must've forgotten to set my alarm before turning in," he said.

"I thought you must've needed the sleep, so I didn't bother to wake you guys up."

"When did you get up?" asked Haruhi.

"I got up at 8, my usual wake up time. I took a nice, relaxing bath when I woke up. Then I roamed about the suite some more. Then I had breakfast and made coffee," said Trisha.

"Another bath? Typical," said Haruhi.

"By the way, are you two…together?"

"Together? Us!? No way. What makes you say that?" asked Haruhi.

"Well, the obvious reason is that I found you two sleeping together out here when I came out. But as I was making coffee, you two started talking in your sleep. You called her Amy, and you called him Susan. Wait. Are you…a lesbian?"

"What!? Me!? No. I mean, I guess. You know what? Just drop it."

"Okay, okay. I'll drop it. I guess that answers my question then. You guys hungry? There's still plenty of food left."

"Yeah, let me wash up first," said Raphael. Once they were ready, he and Haruhi sat down in the kitchen, sifting through the leftovers to find something to eat.

"Hey, is there any water left?" asked Haruhi.

"Um, sorry. I used the last of it making coffee. We have some juice and soda left if you want," said Trisha.

"No thanks, I want some water."

"I think I have a bottle in my backpack. I'll get it," said Raphael.

"Don't worry. I got it," said Haruhi, getting up from her seat.

"No. I've got it," he said, about to get up.

"Chill, man. Geez. I got it," she said, taking his bag and unzipping it. "Hey. Raph, what the heck is this!?"

"Um, what?" asked Raphael, smiling nervously.

Haruhi glared at him and emptied the bag on the table. "You took the loot from those a*******!?"

Raphael shrugged. "What? It would have been such a waste to just leave it all there. It was already conveniently gathered for me, so I just brought it along. Who knows? It might come in handy later."

"For what!?"

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm the one carrying it, so don't mind your petty, little head about my treasure."

"Don't you have a couple bottles in your pack, Haruhi?" asked Trisha, taking her bag and opening it up.

"Hey, don't touch that!" said Haruhi, grabbing a hold of the bag and prying it open, spilling its contents onto the floor. Of the items that were scattered on the ground, several twenty-credit and other denomination bills were among them.

"And you're getting on my case for taking money? Look at you! Even after what happened yesterday, you still stole money from somewhere. Where did you get that anyway?" asked Raphael.

"What are you talking about? This isn't my bag. It's Trish's!" said Haruhi.

"No it's not. Mine is over there," she said, pointing to her backpack across the kitchen.

"Fine. It's my bag. And I got it when we were in that bath shop," said Haruhi.

"Why, Haruhi?" asked Raphael.

"I just can't help it."

"But didn't you not want to loot and steal anymore?"

"I got over it. It's like an obsession of mine. I can't help it."

"Well, I guess you didn't have any water after all," said Trisha, shying away from the scene.

"Yeah, no s***," said Haruhi, taking her bag back and filing it with the items on the floor.

Suddenly, they heard a large crashing sound coming from the main bedroom, the one Trisha slept in.

"What was that!?" asked Trisha.

"It sounded like a window breaking," said Raphael, putting down his bag and picking up his putter.

Haruhi dropped what she was doing as well and quickly retrieved her bat. She and Raphael slowly began inching their way to the door while Trisha stayed behind in the kitchen. Haruhi gave Raphael the signal to cover her as she approached the door. He nodded without making a sound and prepared himself. Haruhi gripped her bat as she arrived just outside the door. She was shaking in her boots, but gathered enough courage to place her head against the door, listening to whatever was happening on the other side.

"I hear something inside. It sounds like-" Before she could finish whispering, the door was broken down, knocking her out as she fell to the ground.

"Haurhi!" said Raphael as he saw her on the ground. He was about to come to her aid, but he froze at the sight of something in his path. One of the creatures from the day before, the same creature that chased them into the apartment building, was standing in the doorway, looking at him as it flashed its teeth.

Before Raphael could move, the creature leapt at him, pinning him to the floor. He had just enough time to bring the putter up to keep the creature just barely out of biting reach. "Trisha, run! Get out of here!" he said, still fighting with the creature on top of him.

"I-I can't M-My legs won't move!" said Trisha, trembling at the sight of the creature.

"Just go!" A few moments later, he heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. _'So this is how it all ends, huh, Amy?'_ He closed his eyes, and was about to let the creature kill him, but the sound of a smack, followed by the creature's silence, brought him back to reality. He opened his eyes and saw the creature motionless, and as he looked around, saw Trisha standing next to him with her bat resting on the creature's head. "What did you do?" he asked.

"I took my bat, and with all my strength, brought it down on its head."

"Impressive."

"Yeah, well, I visit the gym once in awhile," she said, flexing her skinny arms with a smug grin.

"Okay, so can you help me get this thing off?"

"Oh, sure," she said, pushing the creature off of him.

"Thanks. How come you didn't try escaping?" asked Raphael, wiping the creature's spit from his uniform.

"I figured I wouldn't last very long without you two, so it was either we all go, or none of us do."

"Well, thanks again," he said, making his way over to Haruhi.

Trisha edgily walked around the creature and followed him. "Is she all right?" she asked.

Raphael knelt down and checked for breathing. "She's fine, just knocked out." He moved the debris off her and tried to wake her up. "Hey, Haruhi, you okay?" he asked, trying to shake her awake.

"Huh, wha?" she asked, coming to.

"We got attacked by one of those creatures from earlier," said Raphael, moving out of the way so she could see it. "It burst down the door and knocked you out."

"Wow. How did you kill it?"

"Actually, I didn't do anything. Trisha killed it and saved me, and you as well."

"Trisha took it out!?"

"Yeah. Got to use this thing after all," said Trisha, patting her cricket bat.

"At least you're good for something. Thanks," said Haruhi, getting back to her feet with Raphael's help.

"All right. You two, gather your things. We're leaving," said Raphael, making his way back to the kitchen.

"What? Why?" asked Trisha.

"This place isn't exactly safe now, is it?" asked Raphael, looking over at the creature.

"What do you mean 'not safe'? All we have to do is push the creature out the window it came in, clean up the glass, and there you go. Back to normal," said Haruhi.

"If that thing found us, I'm sure others can as well," said Raphael.

"What if that's the last one, huh? I like it here. What do we do once we leave? Ever think of that?"

"We'll make it up as we go, but I don't feel safe here. It's too exposed."

Suddenly, they heard a primal howl bellow throughout the penthouse. They all turned to the living room with horror and saw the creature still alive, glaring at them and growling. Before it could jump at them again, Raphael drew his sidearm and unloaded the entire clip into the creature, landing most of his hits in the head.

Raphael stood panting, holding his spent pistol in his hand as he continued to point it at the creature. It lay dead on the floor before him, bleeding out on the carpet from its gunshot wounds. Trisha was cowering behind the counter while Haruhi stood next to Raphael, frozen with fear.

He brought himself around and dropped his empty magazine, slipping in his last one. "That is why it's not safe, and I'm pretty sure he just called his buddies to come and help him out. I'm thinking we need to leave before they get here because I'm on my last mag."

Haruhi gave him a nod and quickly went about packing her bag and gathering her things. Trisha did the same and hurried to gather her supplies. Raphael got his bag together and put on his vest and other gear. They all trembled with fright as they heard similar howls in the distance. Once they were ready, they hurried to the elevator and rode it down to the ground floor.

"What are we going to do!?" asked Trisha.

"I'm working on it," said Raphael, frantically trying to come up with a plan.

"We should stock up on supplies before leaving. Who knows when we might come across food or water again," said Haruhi.

"Good call. We'll raid the mini-mart then find somewhere else to hideout," said Raphael. They all nodded and prepared to depart. Once the elevator doors opened, they were greeted by a zombie in the room.

"Zombie? When did they get in here!?" asked Raphael, taking his putter and whacking the zombie in the head. They hurried to the mini-mart and saw zombies around the front lobby.

"I guess we're not going that way," said Trisha.

"Entrance to the mall is also no good," said Haruhi.

"Shoot. Let's just get the supplies first," said Raphael, hurrying into the mart. They each filled the empty space of their bags with non-perishable food items and water bottles. Once they were ready, they met at the front of the mart to make their next move.

"Now what?" asked Haruhi as she watched the zombies shamble around in the distance.

"We could try driving out of here," said Trisha.

"How exactly do you plan on accomplishing that?" asked Raphael.

"The hotel has a valet service. I'm pretty sure the cars are in the basement parking garage."

"What about the keys, unless you know how to hot-wire the things?" asked Haruhi.

"It's valet. They have the keys somewhere down there. Probably in an office or something downstairs," said Trisha.

"It's better than nothing. C'mon, back to the elevators," said Raphael. The three of them hurried back to the elevators and took it down to the parking level. When they got out, they searched around inside the valet office for the car keys.

"Find anything good?" asked Haruhi, skimming through all the sets of keys on the wall rack.

"I can't tell what kind of car the keys belong to," said Raphael.

"Found one!" said Trisha, holding up a set of keys.

"What kind of car does that go to?" asked Haruhi.

"I don't know, but the car is parked close by. I think it was a sedan."

"That will do. Anything will work as long as it can get us out of here," said Raphael.

Trisha took the keys and went back outside with Raphael and Amy. She kept pressing the electronic lock button until one of the vehicles responded with a beep. It was in fact a sedan, a luxurious, high-end one. Trisha hurried into the driver's seat while Raphael and Haruhi got into the back.

"Let's hope this works," said Trisha, inserting the key into the ignition. They all crossed their fingers as she turned the key, bringing the vehicle to life.

"You're a genius," said Haruhi, relieved that their plan was following through.

"Why thank you. You know, one of you could've sat up here with me," said Trisha.

"Just drive," said Raphael, looking through the windows to make sure they were clear. She gave him a nod and backed the car out of its spot, driving towards the exit.

"So what do we do once we're out of here?" asked Haruhi.

"We can try looking for a military checkpoint, or something. Maybe we can head back to the base and look for survivors," said Raphael.

"And run into Blackwatch again? No thanks."

"Who's Blackwatch?" asked Trisha.

"They're some secret military organization that was sent in to handle this mess, but they're not doing a very good job of it," said Haruhi.

Once they were streetside again, there were large amounts of zombies roaming the roads. "Where did they all come from!?" asked Trisha.

"Can you drive around them?" asked Raphael.

"I can try."

"Do it. We need to find another place to stay."

Trisha swallowed any doubts she had and gave him a nod. She gripped the steering wheel and stepped on the gas, moving onto the street.

"Gah! Can you not hit the zombies, please!?" asked Haruhi.

"There's too many of them! I'm doing the best I can!" The zombies she was hitting wee denting the front of the car and some were even putting cracks in the windshield.

"For f**** sake! If you keep this up, the car isn't going to last much longer!" said Haruhi.

Trisha got fed up with her complaining and turned around to confront her. "Do you want to drive!? Because I will stop this car, missy!"

"Trish, watch the road!" said Raphael. As she turned around to face the road, she hit a zombie dead on, completely smashing the windshield as the car collided with the body.

"Shoot! I can't see!" said Trisha steering blindly as she tried to find a clear patch of glass to look through. "What is that!? A barrier!" She stepped on the brakes and turned the wheel, hitting several zombies until the car skidded to a stop against the military barricade. Raphael and Haruhi gripped the sides of the vehicle as they were jerked across their seats.

"I take it all back. You're not a genius. You're a menace," said Haruhi, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Just shut up, okay? I did my best," said Trisha, trying to start the car back up. The vehicle's ignition system was attracting all the surrounding zombies to them.

"Forget it, Trish. We need to move or else we'll be surrounded," said Raphael. He grabbed his putter and backpack before opening the car door. He looked around and secured the area around the car. Haruhi followed suit as did Trisha, moving next to him with their weapons in hand.

"If we die here, I blame Ms. Ditz," said Haruhi, looking the zombie horde over.

"We're not going to die here," said Raphael. Her took his putter and charged forward, striking the first foe in front of him. "C'mon! I see a store across the street!" he said.

"Let's get a move on, Trish. You don't want to die, do you?" asked Haruhi as she followed close behind him.

She grimaced and took her bat, following after them. As they advanced more towards the store, the zombie density increased. They swung their weapons, saving the ammunition for emergencies, and made it to the door.

"Hurry, everyone inside!" said Raphael as he approached the entrance. As he tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge.

"C'mon, Raph! I can't hold them off forever!" said Haruhi, taking down another zombie.

"The door's locked! I can't get in!" he said, trying to pull it open. He tried kicking it open and used his putter to try and pry it loose. "It's no use. It won't open," he said, turning around to Haruhi.

"Are you f****** kidding me!?" asked Haruhi, hitting another zombie.

Raphael quickly scanned the area to look for another place to go. Behind the concrete barriers blocking the street, there was a meshwire fence that created a wall for the checkpoint. A few meters from where they crashed, across the median, there was a gate leading to the other side of the fence, which was void of zombies. "Follow me!" he said, running back onto the street.

Having no other alternative, Haruhi and Trisha followed, trusting that he was making the right decision. As they fought their way back across the street, more zombies filled their side of the street. Half way there, they were forced to stop in the middle of street on the median. There were zombies in front of them, behind, and on all sides.

"This is getting us nowhere, Raph! There's too many of them!" said Haruhi, overwhelmed at the sight of the zombie horde around them. Suddenly, she heard a gunshot from behind her. "Raph, what are you doing!? You're going to attract more of them!"

"We're almost there! If we don't use everything we've got, we're not going to make it," he said, firing off tow more rounds.

Haruhi looked at him then back to the zombies. "Trish, here, take my bat," she said handing over her melee weapon. Once Trisha took her bat, Haruhi drew her sidearm and began shooting. She and Raphael took down the zombies closest to them, making a clear path, but expending most of their ammunition. During the short distance to the gate, Raphael fired off the last of his rounds.

"Hey, I hope this works, because I'm running low here," said Haruhi as she covered Raphael and Trisha.

Raphael hurried over to the gate and tried pushing and pulling it open. His heart sank as he noticed the reinforced lock keeping the gate closed. "Hey, Haruhi, how much ammo do you have left?" he asked.

"None anymore. Why?" she asked, firing off her last round. She looked over at Raphael, who moved out of the way to let her see the lock.

"Is that a lock?"

"Yes, yes it is."

"Can you break it off?"

"It's reinforced, so the only way to remove it is if we shot it off, but…"

"I see," said Haruhi, sighing as she stared at the ground.

Trisha looked from her, to Raphael, then back to Haruhi. "What does that mean!? Are we stuck here!?

"Yeah. We're f*****, so if you have anything you want to say or do before you die a slow, gruesome death, get it out now," said Haruhi, holstering her empty pistol. They stood for a moment, thinking about the predicament they were in. Out of nowhere, Raphael reached up and grabbed Trisha's breast, making a honking sound.

"Raph, you're giving up too!?" asked Trisha.

"Well, the gate is locked, the store is closed, the car is dead, and there is a horde of zombies blocking our only avenue of escape. I'm sorry, Trish," said Raphael.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm not dying without a fight," said Haruhi, taking her bat back from Trisha. She stretched out and prepared to fight the zombies that were slowly moving in on their position. Trisha completely broke down in tears and slumped to the ground.

Raphael patted her on the shoulder and took up position next to Haruhi. "It seems like our luck has run out. Anything you want to get off your chest before they get here?" he asked.

"Actually, there is one thing I wanted to do before we go out swinging."

"Only one thing?"

"Well, there's a lot of stuff I wanted to do, but only one of them I can actually get done here and now."

"And what would that be?" asked Raphael, keeping vigilant as the zombies got within ten meters of them.

"This may sound weird, but I've always wanted to kiss a boy."

"What? But that's what 'normal' girls do all the time. Why do you want to do that?"

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not normal," she said, kissing him on the lips. It only lasted a few seconds. After they separated, Haruhi prepared to charge. "Huh, that wasn't bad at all. See you on the other side." She gave him a wink and sprinted headlong into the horde as she began her last stand. Raphael gave her a smile and joined her in battle. The two of them fought together while Trisha continued to cower behind them, the zombies too preoccupied with Raphael and Haruhi to notice her.

"How are you doing!?" asked Raphael as he continued to hold his own against the undead.

"I'm doing great! I've never felt this way before! My heart's pounding! The adrenaline's pumping! We might actually survive this!"

"Don't get cocky. There's still a bunch of them coming. Hey, Haruhi! Are you all right!?" he asked as he saw a zombie pull her to the ground.

"Raph, help me!" she said, keeping the zombie at bay with her bat.

Raphael tried to rush over to her, but there were too many zombies between him and her. "Haruhi!"

"Raph!" Suddenly, a spray of blood splattered across her face as the zombie on her ceased moving. Raphael quickly glanced in the direction of the gunshot, seeing a sniper standing on top of a derelict tank across the fence.

"Hurry, get to the gate!" said the sniper, taking down a couple more zombies near Haruhi.

"We can't! There's a lock!" said Raphael.

The sniper redirected her aim and shot the lock off with a single shot. "Not anymore," she said.

Raphael turned back to Trisha and helped her up from the ground. "Head to the gate. I'll get Haruhi, okay?"

Trisha nodded and hurried to the gate, relieved that there was a possibility of living. Raphael fought his way over to Haruhi, who was already back on her feet and fighting her way back to him.

"Are you okay?" asked Raphael.

"I'm fine. Now let's get out of here!" The two of them ran for the gate while the mysterious sniper covered them, going through magazine after magazine to aid in their escape.

Trisha was already on the other side, waiting to close the gate once they were through. "C'mon! They're coming!" Raphael and Haruhi sprinted through the gate with the remaining energy they had left. The three of them tried to close the gate, but there was a zombie corpse blocking it.

"Just forget it! Follow me. There's a safehouse over this way," said the sniper, jumping down from the tank. Raphael and the others moved away from the gate and hurried over to her. The sniper opened a reinforced door leading into a restaurant being used as a make-shift checkpoint command center.


End file.
